Probe over Russia meddling set to end
WASHINGTON: Special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 US election, which has resulted in the conviction of several associates and advisers of President Donald Trump, is finally winding down, according to media reports. The much awaited report is expected sometime next week.
Trump, who has slammed the probe as a witch-hunt, said the US attorney general will decide if Mueller’s findings should be made public.
“That’ll be totally up to the new attorney general,” Trump told reporters when asked if the report should be made public. “He’s a tremendous man, a tremendous person, who really respects this country and respects the justice department.”
Mueller is expected to submit a confidential report to Willam Barr, the new attorney general, specifying who should be prosecuted and who should be spared - and why.
The attorney general is then required to send a summary of the report to the US Congress, which should contain “brief notifications, with an outline of the actions and the reasons for them”.
Mueller took charge of the FBI’S Russia meddling probe in May 2017.
CLIMATE DOUBTER ADVISING TRUMP
The Trump administration is exploring the idea of forming a special committee to look at climate change risks, with the effort being coordinated by a physicist who rejects mainstream climate science. A “discussion paper” asks officials from government agencies to weigh in on a proposed executive order that Trump would sign establishing the Presidential committee on climate security.
A memo to those federal officials asks them to direct any questions to William Happer, a member of Trump’s National Security Council and a wellknown critic of mainstream climate science findings.