First charges filed in US probe on Russia meddling
WASHINGTON: First charges were reportedly filed by the office of special counsel Robert Mueller, who is probing Russian meddling in the 2016 US elections and allegations of collusion by members of then Republican candidate Donald Trump’s campaign team.
The CNN, which first reported the development despite no official confirmation, did not describe the charges or identify the target, or targets.
The charges were approved by a grand jury hearing testimony in the probe in a Washington DC federal court. The indictment (a list of charges) was delivered in a sealed envelope and officials made no announcements.
There were reports that arrests, also the first in this case, could follow neat week, as early as Monday or Tuesday.
These reports were based on unexpected flurry of activity at the court, and included the presence of top members of Mueller’s team.
Mueller, a highly-respected former FBI director, was appointed special counsel by the US justice department in May after President Trump fired then FBI director James Comey after asking him to back off on Michael Flynn, Trump’s first national security adviser sacked for lying about his interactions with Russian officials.
Mueller’s mandate is to look not only into the Russian meddling and allegation of Trump campaign collusion, but also “any matters that arose or may arise directly from the investigation”, which has been a matter of concern for the White House.