Mueller turns to grand jury in Russia probe
Lawyer says Trump not under investigation
WASHINGTON — Special Counsel Robert Mueller is using a grand jury in Washington as part of an investigation into potential coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia, a person familiar with the probe said Thursday.
The use of a grand jury, a standard prosecution tool in criminal investigations, suggests that Mr. Mueller and his team of investigators are likely to hear from witnesses and demand documents in the coming weeks and months. The person who confirmed to The Associated Press that Mr. Mueller had turned to a grand jury was not authorized to discuss the investigation by name and spoke on condition of anonymity.
The Wall Street Journal first reported the use of a grand jury.
Grand juries are common vehicles to subpoena witnesses and records and to present evidence, though they do not suggest any criminal charges are near or will necessarily be sought. It was not immediately clear how or whether the Washington grand jury was
connected to the work of a separate one in Alexandria, Va. That panel has been used to gather information on Michael Flynn, the president’s former national security adviser, who Thursday reportedly was revealing a brief advisory role with Cambridge Analytica, a firm related to a controversial data analysis company that aided the Trump campaign.
A spokesman for Mr. Mueller’s team did not return an email seeking comment.
Mr. Mueller’s reliance on a grand jury is the “logical next step in this investigation” given that it’s the traditional method for prosecutors to gather evidence, said Washington defense lawyer Jacob Frenkel.
“The use of the grand jury neither escalates, nor establishes a timeline for, the investigation,” he added.
Meanwhile, lawyers for President Donald Trump said they were unaware of the existence of a grand jury and had no information to suggest the president himself was under federal investigation.
“With respect to the news of the federal grand jury, I have no reason to believe that the president is under investigation,” defense attorney John Dowd told the AP.
Ty Cobb, special counsel to the president, said he wasn’t aware Mr. Muellerhad started using a new grand jury.
“Grand jury matters are typically secret,” Mr. Cobb said. “The White House favors anything that accelerates the conclusion of his work fairly. ... The White House is committed to fully cooperating with Mr. Mueller.”
It was not clear what witnesses might appear before the grand jury or what evidence it might be accumulating or presented with.
Though there is “considerable deference to the prosecutors and their recommendations” when it comes to a grand jury, “the mere fact of presenting evidence to the grand jury does not obligate prosecutors in any way to ask them to return an indictment,” Mr. Frenkel said.
Mr. Mueller was appointed special counsel in May by the Justice Department after Mr. Trump’s firing of FBI Director James Comey. He has since assembled a team of more than a dozen investigators, including current and former Justice Department prosecutors with experience in international bribery, organized crime and financial fraud.
That team has been working at an undisclosed location in Washington, so presenting evidence inside a federal courthouse in the city could be more convenient for the group of investigators than working out of Alexandria. Mr. Mueller also worked as a prosecutor in Washington before becoming FBI director, a job he held for 12 years.
News of the grand jury came as senators — Thom Tillis, R-N.C., and Chris Coons, D-Del. — introduced two bipartisan bills aimed at protecting Mr. Mueller from being fired by Mr. Trump, with both parties signaling resistance to any White House effort to derail the investigation into Russian meddling in last year’s election.
Trump attorney Jay Sekulow told Fox News on Thursday that “the president is not thinking about firing Robert Mueller, so the speculation that’s out there is just incorrect.” He also downplayed the significance of the grand jury.