GRAND SLAMMED
Special counsel Robert Mueller impanels grand jury as Russia investigation intensifies
Special counsel Robert Mueller is reportedly tapping a federal grand jury in Washington to advance the investigation into Russia’s suspected interference in the presidential election, a sign the inquiry is intensifying and could go on for months or years.
The move would give Mueller, a former FBI director, broad authority to subpoena documents and compel witnesses to testify under oath.
Mueller has been investigating possible collusion between Trump associates and Russians accused of seeking to influence last year’s presidential election by hacking Democrats. The investigation’s expansion is likely to incense President Trump, who is already furious with what he calls a “witch hunt.”
The Wall Street Journal, which broke the story Thursday, reported that the
“With a grand jury, Mueller can compel witnesses to testify and collect documents that are central to the investigation.” Jimmy Gurule, former assistant attorney general
grand jury began working in recent weeks. The panel issued subpoenas relating to a meeting in June 2016 between the president’s son, Donald Trump Jr., and a Russian lawyer, Reuters reported.
Last month, Trump Jr. released emails showing he arranged the meeting in hopes of obtaining damaging information about his father’s election opponent, Hillary Clinton — even after he was told it would come from the Russian government. President Trump’s son- in- law and adviser Jared Kushner, along with then- campaign chairman Paul Manafort, were in the meeting with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya and others with Russian ties.
Josh Stueve, a spokesman for Mueller, declined to comment.
Legal analysts characterized Mueller’s use of a grand jury as a serious escalation of an inquiry he began overseeing in May.
“This suggests that there is evidence that a crime may have been committed, and there is a need to apply the legal tools a grand jury can bring to bear,” said Jimmy Gurule, a former assistant attorney general in the administration of President George H. W. Bush. “With a grand jury, Mueller can compel witnesses to testify and collect documents that are central to the investigation.”
Through witness testimony and documents, Gurule said, prosecutors are able to more “fully define the contours and the scope” of what’s being examined.
If Mueller impanels a grand jury, said Jens David Ohlin, a vice dean and professor at Cornell Law School and an expert on criminal law, “this suggests the investigation will end with indictments.”
It’s unlikely that Mueller will “simply submit a report to Congress and allow the political process to digest his findings,” Ohlin said. “This is a criminal investigation in the fullest sense of the term.”
John Dowd, Trump’s lead outside lawyer, said Thursday he was not aware of Mueller’s reported move but was confident the president was not a target.
At a rally in West Virginia on Thursday night, Trump he once again called the allegations about Russia a hoax.