WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A grand jury has issued subpoenas in connection
with a June 2016 meeting that included President Donald Trump's son, his
son-in-law and a
Russian lawyer, two sources told Reuters on Thursday,
signaling an investigation is gathering pace into suspected Russian meddling in
the 2016 U.S. election.
The sources added that U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller had convened
the grand jury investigation in Washington to help examine allegations of
Russian interference in the vote. One of the sources said it was assembled in
recent weeks.
Russia has loomed large over the first six months of the Trump
presidency. U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded that Russia worked to
tilt the presidential election in Trump's favor. Mueller, who was appointed
special counsel in May, is leading the probe, which also examines potential
collusion by the Trump campaign with Russia.
Moscow denies any meddling and Trump denies any collusion by his
campaign, while regularly denouncing the investigations as political witch
hunts.
At a rally in Huntington, West Virginia, on Thursday night, Trump said:
"Most people know there were no Russians in our campaign. ... We didn't
win because of Russia. We won because of you."
Mueller's use of a grand jury could give him expansive tools to pursue
evidence, including issuing subpoenas and compelling witnesses to testify. The
Wall Street Journal earlier reported a grand jury was impaneled.
A spokesman for Mueller declined comment.
A grand jury is a group of ordinary citizens who, working behind closed
doors, considers evidence of potential criminal wrongdoing that a prosecutor is
investigating and decides whether charges should be brought.
"This is a serious development in the Mueller investigation,"
said Paul Callan, a former prosecutor.
"Given that Mueller inherited an investigation that began months
ago, it would suggest that he has uncovered information pointing in the
direction of criminal charges. But against whom is the real question."
A lawyer for Trump, Jay Sekulow, appeared to downplay the significance of
a grand jury, telling Fox News: "This is not an unusual move."
U.S. stocks and the dollar weakened following the news, while U.S.
Treasury securities gained.
It was not immediately clear to whom subpoenas were issued and the
sources did not elaborate.
Some lawyers said it would put pressure on potential witnesses to
cooperate with Mueller's investigation.
"When someone gets a subpoena to testify, that can drive home the
seriousness of the investigation," said David Sklansky, a professor at
Stanford Law School and a former federal prosecutor.
In 2005, a grand jury convened by Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald
returned an indictment of Lewis "Scooter" Libby, a top aide to
then-Vice President Dick Cheney.
"A special counsel can bring an indictment and it has happened
before," said Renato Mariotti, a partner at the law firm Thompson Coburn
and a former federal prosecutor.
DAMAGING INFORMATION
News last month of the meeting between Donald Trump Jr. and a Russian
lawyer who he was told had damaging information about his father's presidential
rival, Democrat Hillary Clinton, fueled questions about the campaign's dealings
with Moscow.
The Republican president has defended his son's behavior, saying many
people would have taken that meeting.
Trump's son-in-law and White House senior adviser Jared Kushner and
former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort also attended the meeting.
One of the sources said major Russian efforts to interfere in the
election on Trump’s behalf began shortly after the June meeting, making it a
focus of Mueller’s investigation.
Slideshow (4 Images)
Ty Cobb, special counsel to the president, said he was not aware that
Mueller had started using a new grand jury.
"Grand jury matters are typically secret," Cobb said. "The
White House favors anything that accelerates the conclusion of his work fairly.
... The White House is committed to fully cooperating with Mr. Mueller."
John Dowd, one of Trump's personal lawyers, said: "With respect to
the news of the grand jury, I can tell you President Trump is not under
investigation."
A spokesman for Manafort declined to comment.
Lawyers for Trump Jr. and Kushner did not immediately respond to requests
for comment.
'NOT THINKING OF FIRING MUELLER'
Trump has questioned Mueller's impartiality and members of Congress from
both parties have expressed concern that Trump might dismiss him. Republican
and Democratic senators introduced two pieces of legislation on Thursday
seeking to block Trump from firing Mueller.
Sekulow denied that was Trump's plan.
"The president is not thinking of firing Bob Mueller," Sekulow
said.
One source briefed on the matter said Mueller was investigating whether,
either at the meeting or afterward, anyone affiliated with the Trump campaign
encouraged the Russians to start releasing material they had been collecting on
the Clinton campaign since March 2016.
Another source familiar with the inquiry said that while the president
himself was not now under investigation, Mueller's investigation was seeking to
determine whether he knew of the June 9 meeting in advance or was briefed on it
afterward.
Reuters earlier reported that Mueller's team was examining
money-laundering accusations against Manafort and hoped to push him to
cooperate with their probe into possible collusion between Trump’s campaign and
Russia. It is not known if the grand jury is investigating those potential
charges.
0 Comments