Special Counsel Robert Mueller, in charge of investigating the possible Russian meddling in the presidential election, has called a new grand jury to help him in the inquiry, reported “The Wall Street Journal”. According to the publication, the measure is a sign that Mueller, who is also a former FBI director, is making progress in his investigations.
The grand jury is formed by a group of common citizens who analyze the case in order to consider whether or not there is enough proof for the Council to proceed with the issuance of a formal indictment.
They don’t have the power to actually convict a defendant.
According to "Reuters," as of the formation of the grand jury, there was two summons issued related to the meeting held in June 2016 in New York, between President Trump’s elder son Donald Trump Jr., his son-in-law Jared Kushner and a Russian lawyer, supposedly connected with the Russian government. However, the names of the individuals subpoenaed were not released.
A spokesman for Mueller declared that the Council, which was appointed in May to investigate the case, would not speak about the investigations. U.S. intelligence agencies concluded that the government of Vladimir Putin, Russia’s president, worked in order to favor Donald Trump in the contest against Democrat Hillary Clinton.
The Republican president, on the other hand, says that his alleged link with Russia is a “witch hunt.” The Russian authorities also deny any meddling.
Dangerous Low
President Trump said on Wednesday that the relations between Washington and Moscow are at dangerously low, amid sanctions imposed on Russia by means of a new law approved by Congress.
Although the president didn’t agree with the sanctions, he was forced to sign them, creating a feud between the executive and legislative branches.
The law, which also includes sanctions on North Korea and Iran, is targeted at the Russian energy sector, the most important to the country’s economy. The approved text gives Washington the power to sanction companies involved in the construction of oil pipelines in these three countries.
The Russian government reacted by calling the sanctions a “full fledged economic war,” ending the hopes of better relations with the American administration. Aside from the tough words, President Vladimir Putin announced the expulsion of 755 U.S. diplomatic personnel based in Moscow, something that resembles practices from the Cold War.
According to the Huffington Post, the Russian measures were the toughest against the United States since 1986 when 200 locally hired employees were forced to leave their jobs in the American embassy in the Russian capital.
