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Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Back issues
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First Indictment in Mueller Russia Probe to Be Served Monday, Report Says

The first indictment in special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election will be handed down Monday, according to NBC News.

(CN) - The first indictment in special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election will be handed down Monday, according to NBC News.

The report cites a "U.S. official" familiar with the matter.

On Friday, several lawyers who are assisting in Mueller's probe were seen entering a court room at the D.C. Federal Court, according to published reports. This individuals included a veteran prosecutor, Andrew Weissmann.

A separate report, from CNN, said that a federal grand jury had approved charges in Mueller's probe. The network also reported that the charges are sealed under a federal judge's order.

Earlier this week, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said during a briefing with reporters that the Trump administration believes the probe "is getting closer to conclusion"

The special counsel's office declined to comment.

Mueller was appointed special counsel shortly after President Donald Trump abruptly fired then-FBI Director James Comey in May. Mueller, himself a former FBI director, was authorized to investigate "any matters that arose or may arise directly from the investigation," according to the order signed by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.

While Mueller's investigation has mainly transpired behind closed doors, what is known is that he and his team have looked into foreign lobbying conducted by former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and former national security advisor Michael Flynn.

The Mueller team has also been scrutinizing a former Trump campaign advisor Carter Page, and several individuals, including Donald Trump Jr., who took part in a Trump Tower meeting between Russians and campaign officials.

On Friday, The New York Times reported that Natalia Veselnitskaya, the Russian attorney who met with Donald Trump Jr. and two other top Trump campaign officials during the 2016 presidential race, first shared the information she planned to provide the campaign with Russia's prosecutor general, Yuri Chaika.

The information, which Veselniskaya believed would be damaging to Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, reportedly accused a company linked to two major Clinton donors of a scheme to illegally purchase shares in a Russian company and avoid thousands of dollars in Russian taxes.

Three committees on Capitol Hill are also conducting their own investigations into Russian meddling in the 2016 campaign. - This story is developing.

Categories / Government, Law, National, Politics

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