Judge extends Mueller grand jury term

WASHINGTON — The chief federal judge in Washington has extended the term of the grand jury used by special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation.

That’s according to a court spokesman who wasn’t authorized to discuss the matter by name and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The extension by U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell is the latest sign that the Mueller probe will continue for at least the next several months.

The grand jury was impaneled in July 2017 for a standard 18-month term and was set to expire this week before Howell’s extension. Federal criminal procedure rules allow such extensions when a judge determines it is in the public interest. The extension can only last up to six months.

Separately, prosecutors with Mueller’s office and the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington indicated in a court filing Thursday that there’s an ongoing grand jury investigation related to a Russian social media troll farm accused of interfering in the 2016 presidential election.

The lawyers told a judge they want to reply under seal to an ongoing court dispute with a Russian company because their response concerns a “matter occurring before the grand jury.”

Mueller’s office last February indicted three Russian individuals and three Russian companies accused in a social media effort to sway American public opinion ahead of the election.