It Begins: Special Counsel Mueller Files First Charges In Russia Investigation

FBI Director Robert Mueller listens as he testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, June 13, 2013, as the House Judiciary Committee held an oversight hearing on the FBI. Mueller is nearing the end of his 12 ... FBI Director Robert Mueller listens as he testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, June 13, 2013, as the House Judiciary Committee held an oversight hearing on the FBI. Mueller is nearing the end of his 12 years as head of the law enforcement agency that is conducting high-profile investigations of the Boston Marathon bombings, the attacks in Benghazi, Libya, and leaks of classified government information. The committee's chairman, Rep. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., said when it comes to national security leaks, it's important to balance the need to protect secrecy with the need to let the news media do their job. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) MORE LESS
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Special counsel Robert Mueller, backed by a federal grand jury, has filed the first charges in his investigation into the Trump campaign and administration’s dealings with Russia, according to a report Friday night by CNN later confirmed by Reuters and the Wall Street Journal. At least one individual could be taken into custody as early as Monday. Both the names of the person or person and the charges filed against them remain for now under a judge’s seal.

Mueller—who was appointed by the Justice Department in May in the wake of Trump firing FBI Director James Comey and boasting to Russian officials about it—has since then conducted a broad investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election and whether Trump or anyone his network colluded with Russia or attempted to obstruct the investigation.

That broad mandate has led him to explore the foreign lobbying work of Trump’s campaign associates, the many White House officials involved in the decision to fire Comey, and the Trump Organization’s foreign businesses dealings. 

Friday’s announcement marks the first official charges filed as a result of the investigation, which Trump has repeatedly dismissed as a “witch hunt.”

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