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Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya speaks during an interview in
Moscow, Russia November 8, 2016. REUTERS/Kommersant Photo/Yury Martyanov |
August 4, 2017
By Karen Freifeld and John Walcott
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A grand jury has issued subpoenas in
connection with a June 2016 meeting that included President Donald
Trump’s son, his son-in-law and a Russian lawyer, two sources told
Reuters on Thursday, signaling an investigation is gathering pace into
suspected Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election.
The sources added that U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller had
convened the grand jury investigation in Washington to help examine
allegations of Russian interference in the vote. One of the sources said
it was assembled in recent weeks.
Russia has loomed large over the first six months of the Trump
presidency. U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded that Russia worked
to tilt the presidential election in Trump’s favor. Mueller, who was
appointed special counsel in May, is leading the probe, which also
examines potential collusion by the Trump campaign with Russia.
Moscow denies any meddling and Trump denies any collusion by his
campaign, while regularly denouncing the investigations as political
witch hunts.
At a rally in Huntington, West Virginia, on Thursday night, Trump
said: “Most people know there were no Russians in our campaign. … We
didn’t win because of Russia. We won because of you.”
Mueller’s use of a grand jury could give him expansive tools to
pursue evidence, including issuing subpoenas and compelling witnesses to
testify. The Wall Street Journal earlier reported a grand jury was
impaneled.
A spokesman for Mueller declined comment.
A grand jury is a group of ordinary citizens who, working behind
closed doors, considers evidence of potential criminal wrongdoing that a
prosecutor is investigating and decides whether charges should be
brought.
“This is a serious development in the Mueller investigation,” said Paul Callan, a former prosecutor.
“Given that Mueller inherited an investigation that began months ago,
it would suggest that he has uncovered information pointing in the
direction of criminal charges. But against whom is the real question.”
A lawyer for Trump, Jay Sekulow, appeared to downplay the
significance of a grand jury, telling Fox News: “This is not an unusual
move.”
U.S. stocks and the dollar weakened following the news, while U.S. Treasury securities gained.
It was not immediately clear to whom subpoenas were issued and the sources did not elaborate.
Some lawyers said it would put pressure on potential witnesses to cooperate with Mueller’s investigation.
“When someone gets a subpoena to testify, that can drive home the
seriousness of the investigation,” said David Sklansky, a professor at
Stanford Law School and a former federal prosecutor.
In 2005, a grand jury convened by Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald
returned an indictment of Lewis “Scooter” Libby, a top aide to then-Vice
President Dick Cheney.
“A special counsel can bring an indictment and it has happened
before,” said Renato Mariotti, a partner at the law firm Thompson Coburn
and a former federal prosecutor.
DAMAGING INFORMATION
News last month of the meeting between Donald Trump Jr. and a Russian
lawyer who he was told had damaging information about his father’s
presidential rival, Democrat Hillary Clinton, fueled questions about the
campaign’s dealings with Moscow.
The Republican president has defended his son’s behavior, saying many people would have taken that meeting.
Trump’s son-in-law and White House senior adviser Jared Kushner and
former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort also attended the meeting.
One of the sources said major Russian efforts to interfere in the
election on Trump’s behalf began shortly after the June meeting, making
it a focus of Mueller’s investigation.
Ty Cobb, special counsel to the president, said he was not aware that Mueller had started using a new grand jury.
“Grand jury matters are typically secret,” 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.”
John Dowd, one of Trump’s personal lawyers, said: “With respect to
the news of the grand jury, I can tell you President Trump is not under
investigation.”
A spokesman for Manafort declined to comment.
Lawyers for Trump Jr. and Kushner did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
‘NOT THINKING OF FIRING MUELLER’
Trump has questioned Mueller’s impartiality and members of Congress
from both parties have expressed concern that Trump might dismiss him.
Republican and Democratic senators introduced two pieces of legislation
on Thursday seeking to block Trump from firing Mueller.
Sekulow denied that was Trump’s plan.
“The president is not thinking of firing Bob Mueller,” Sekulow said.
One source briefed on the matter said Mueller was investigating
whether, either at the meeting or afterward, anyone affiliated with the
Trump campaign encouraged the Russians to start releasing material they
had been collecting on the Clinton campaign since March 2016.
Another source familiar with the inquiry said that while the
president himself was not now under investigation, Mueller’s
investigation was seeking to determine whether he knew of the June 9
meeting in advance or was briefed on it afterward.
Reuters earlier reported that Mueller’s team was examining
money-laundering accusations against Manafort and hoped to push him to
cooperate with their probe into possible collusion between Trump’s
campaign and Russia. It is not known if the grand jury is investigating
those potential charges.