A special counsel investigating claims of Russian meddling in the US election has reportedly empanelled a grand jury.<\/p>\n
The US media reports suggest Robert Mueller’s inquiry has taken the first step towards possible criminal charges.<\/p>\n
According to Reuters news agency, the jury has issued subpoenas over a June 2016 meeting between President Donald Trump’s son and a Russian lawyer.<\/p>\n
The president has poured scorn on any suggestion his team colluded with the Kremlin to beat Hillary Clinton.<\/p>\n
In the US, grand juries are set up to consider whether evidence in any case is strong enough to issue indictments for a criminal trial. They do not decide the innocence or guilt of a potential defendant.<\/p>\n
The panel of ordinary citizens also allows a prosecutor to issue subpoenas, a legal writ, to obtain documents or compel witness testimony under oath.<\/p>\n
At a rally in Huntington, West Virginia, on Thursday evening, Mr Trump said the allegations were a “hoax” that were “demeaning to our country”.<\/p>\n
“The Russia story is a total fabrication,” he said. “It’s just an excuse for the greatest loss in the history of American politics, that’s all it is.”<\/p>\n
The crowd went wild as he continued: “What the prosecutor should be looking at are Hillary Clinton’s 33,000 deleted emails.”<\/p>\n
“Most people know there were no Russians in our campaign,” he added. “There never were. We didn’t win because of Russia, we won because of you, that I can tell you.”<\/p>\n
Mr Trump’s high-powered legal team fielding questions on the Russia inquiry said there was no reason to believe the president himself is under investigation.<\/p>\n
Ty Cobb, a lawyer appointed last month as White House special counsel, said in a statement: “The White House favours anything that accelerates the conclusion of his work fairly.<\/p>\n
“The White House is committed to fully co-operating with Mr Mueller.”<\/p>\n
Earlier on Thursday, the US Senate introduced two separate cross-party bills designed to limit the Trump administration’s ability to fire Mr Mueller.<\/p>\n
The measures were submitted amid concern the president might dismiss Mr Mueller, as he fired former FBI director James Comey in May, citing the Russia inquiry in his decision.<\/p>\n
Thursday’s reports suggest former FBI director Mr Mueller’s investigation is focusing on 39-year-old Donald Trump Jr’s June 2016 meeting at Trump Tower with a Russian lawyer.<\/p>\n
According to Reuters, the special counsel is examining whether anyone affiliated with the Trump campaign encouraged the Russians to start releasing material about the Clinton campaign.<\/p>\n
A source told the news agency the president himself was not currently under investigation.<\/p>\n
But the special counsel was seeking to determine whether Mr Trump knew of his son’s meeting before it happened, or if he was briefed on it afterwards, the source said.<\/p>\n
The US first son’s emails show that he was told the meeting would yield damaging material on Mrs Clinton, provided by the Kremlin.<\/p>\n
Mr Trump and his aides have dismissed the encounter as “opposition research” that happens in any political campaign.<\/p>\n
Mr Trump Jr’s initial, misleading statement – that the meeting was about Russian adoptions – was\u00a0issued with the president’s advice.<\/p>\n
The US intelligence community, including the CIA and NSA, has determined that Russia sought to boost Mr Trump’s chances of victory in November 2016 presidential election, which Moscow denies.<\/p>\n
Mr Trump has at times expressed doubt about the determination made by his own intelligence agencies.<\/p>\n
Mr Mueller was appointed in May by the deputy attorney general of the Department of Justice.<\/p>\n
Several congressional inquiries are examining the same allegations.<\/p>\n
–<\/p>\n
Source: BBC<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A special counsel investigating claims of Russian meddling in the US election has reportedly empanelled a grand jury. The US media reports suggest Robert Mueller’s inquiry has taken the first step towards possible criminal charges. According to Reuters news agency, the jury has issued subpoenas over a June 2016 meeting between President Donald Trump’s son […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[107],"tags":[9875,9876,7041],"yoast_head":"\n