US 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 says.
The use of a grand jury, a standard prosecution tool in criminal investigations, suggests that Mueller and his team of investigators are likely to hear from witnesses and demand documents in the coming weeks and months.
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, Virginia. That panel has been used to gather information on Michael Flynn, Trump’s former national security adviser.
A spokesman for Mueller’s team did not return an email seeking comment.
Subpoenas issued
The 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.
Russia has loomed large over the first six months of the Trump presidency. US intelligence agencies have concluded that Russia worked to tilt the presidential election in Trump's favour. Mueller, who was appointed special counsel in May, is leading the probe, which also examines potential collusion by the Trump campaign with Russia.
Trump lashes out
Trump described Russian interference in the election as a "total fabrication" amid reports that the special counsel has impanelled a grand jury to investigate the issue, a step toward possible criminal indictments.
"We didn't win because of Russia. We won because of you," Trump said at a campaign-style rally in West Virginia.
Trying to build support among his core supporters, he said his enemies were "trying to cheat you out of the leadership you want with a fake story that is demeaning to all of us and most importantly, demeaning to our country and demeaning to our constitution."
"The reason why Democrats only talk about the totally made-up Russia story is because they have no message, no agenda, and no vision," he said. "The Russia story is total fabrication. It's just an excuse for the greatest loss in the history of American politics."
VP's hawkish tone
When Trump scolded US lawmakers for clamping down on Moscow with new sanctions, his message clashed with the one that Vice President Mike Pence pushed during a four-day trip this week to Eastern Europe.
As he toured Estonia, Georgia and Montenegro, Pence said the sanctions passed overwhelmingly by Congress would send a unified message to Russia that it must change its behaviour.
Trump, by contrast, took to Twitter to complain that the sanctions legislation, which he grudgingly signed, would send US-Russia relations to "an all-time & very dangerous low."
