Spain cracks down hard on Catalonia
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — In one of the most momentous days in recent Spanish history, Spain fired Catalonia’s regional government and dissolved its parliament Friday after a defiant Catalan declaration of independence that flouted the country’s constitution.
Lawmakers in the Catalan parliament voted to unilaterally declare independence, prompting the swift crackdown by the Spanish government, which also called an early election in the region.
Hours after Catalonia’s secession move, the Spanish Senate granted the government special constitutional powers to stop the wealthy region’s move toward independence.
Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s conservative government then called an urgent Cabinet meeting late Friday, after which Rajoy emerged to announce the emergency measures, including regional elections called for Dec. 21.
In Barcelona, Catalonia’s regional capital, Rajoy’s announcement in a televised address was greeted with jeers and
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The approval of the charges – details of which remain unclear – would mark a major step forward in the sweeping investigation into potential links between President Donald Trump's campaign and Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential vote.
A federal judge ordered that the charges stay sealed, the cable news network said, reporting that anyone charged could be taken into custody as early as Monday.
Reached by AFP, both Mueller's office and the US Department of Justice declined to comment on the CNN report.
Mueller, a former FBI director, was tapped in May to head the Russia probe – one of several ongoing investigations on the matter – shortly after Trump's shock sacking of then-FBI director James Comey.
That Mueller had impaneled a federal grand jury to investigate potential Russian meddling was seen as a step toward possible criminal indictments.
Trump has not been accused of any wrongdoing but his abrupt firing of Comey is reportedly an area of interest to investigators, along with Trump's eldest son's meeting with a Kremlin-linked lawyer during the campaign and Trump's meetings at the White House with Russian officials.
Mueller's team has also scrutinized foreign lobbying done by Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and the president's former national security adviser Michael Flynn. whistles of disapproval from crowds who had gathered at the gates of the government palace to celebrate their parliament’s moves toward independence.
“It’s not about suspending or meddling in the self-government (of Catalonia), but to return it to normality and legality as soon as possible,” Rajoy said.
The government and Spain’s Constitutional Court have both said the secession bid was illegal, and after Friday’s independence vote, Rajoy said it was a move that “not only goes against the law but is a criminal act.”
Rajoy also said he was firing the head of the Catalan regional police, shutting down the Catalan government’s overseas offices, and dismissing its representatives in Madrid and in Brussels, where the European Union has its headquarters.
After the Catalan parliament independence vote, Rajoy said it was a move that “in the opinion of a large majority of people not only goes against the law but is a criminal act.”
The Senate’s decision giving Rajoy special powers trumped the Catalan regional parliament’s vote to secede, which was doomed because the Constitutional Court has already consistently ruled against any steps toward independence.
The battle around Catalonia’s future is far from over, however.
Madrid’s move to take away Catalonia’s regional powers was sure to be seen as a humiliation and a provocation by Catalans and a backlash was expected, with planned street protests and the possibility that regional government workers could follow a policy of disobedience or non-cooperation.