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In a 29-page indictment on Friday, special advocate Robert S. Mueller III blamed some Russian government officials for hacking Democrats in 2016, responding to one of the central questions of his inquiry. involved in the conspiracy to interfere in the race at the White House?
As Mueller faces the task of solving this part of his investigation – as well as his review of whether President Trump sought to impede the investigation – people familiar with the According to the investigation, the Special advocate is trying to wrap up a significant portion of his investigative work at the end of the summer.
Various factors may alter Mueller's efforts and timing, including the resolution of the impasse over an interview with Trump. or ends up being brought to justice, according to people, who requested anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation.
As recently as C is the week, the Mueller team discussed interviewing more witnesses, a sign that part of the probe remains very active, a familiar person with the case said.
Mueller discussed scenarios to reduce at least some of his work in the In the coming months, the population pointed out that the special advisor considered that it was his primary responsibility to investigate Russian acts of interference, and not necessarily to prosecute them.
A spokesman for the special advocate declined to comment. his appointment in May 2017, Mueller has accused 32 people, including 26 Russian. The grand jury indictments have detailed allegations of how Russia has sought to manipulate Americans through social media, to break into electoral systems and to hack emails from democratic committees and political leaders. gone.
Trump or his associates worked with the Russians, an issue he was asked to consider.
Former federal prosecutors have noted that investigators often approach a case like he had concentric circles of a target. "It is common practice to start out of misconduct and work toward the center," said David Kris, who oversaw national security issues at the Justice Department in the United States. Obama administration. "According to other evidence that Mueller has, it might seem that the walls are starting to get closer to the president and his closest associates."
In announcing the latest indictment on Friday, Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein noted that no American has been accused of having aided in Russian and international interference. urged the public not to make assumptions about this part of the investigation.
"In our judicial system, anyone charged with a crime is presumed innocent until proved otherwise. It goes without saying that people who are not accused of a crime are also presumed innocent, "said Rosenstein.
As the investigation has spilled over into a second year, Mueller is under intense political pressure to put an end.-Mostly directly from the president, who repeatedly denied wrongdoing and argued that there was no evidence of "collusion".
Friday, a few hours before Rosenstein announces the indictment in Washington, Trump to come – still called the investigation "a witch hunt faked" at a press conference in England
[After being told of Russia indictments, Trump still aspired to be friends with Putin]
Trump's attacks on the investigation come as the special advocate was investigating whether he had sought to thwart the investigation.For months, Mueller sought to interview the president
The members of the inner circle and the Trump's legal team said that & # 39; they saw signs that Mueller might want to avoid a long battle for the testimony of Trump. In March, Mueller had raised the possible threat of assigning the president to a meeting with Trump 's lawyers, but Trump' s lawyer Rudolph W. Giuliani said in an interview Friday night that Mueller did not tell him anything about it. has not come up since then.
Mueller investigators and Trump's legal team found themselves in a deadlock over the interview since the March meeting, with the president recently demanding specific conditions and dismissing central issues, said Giuliani
. Questions about the actions that Trump took as president, including his private discussions with James B. Comey, then director of the FBI.
Giuliani says that Trump does not all ask Comey to abandon an investigation into former national security adviser Michael Flynn and he does not want the president to be accused of lying on the phone. episode.
"The president firmly believes that he did not say it," Giuliani said. 19659022] "He does not remember … But Mueller could go out in the other direction," he added. "They will say that he is lying.We do not want to expose him to perjury [accusations]."
Trump's lawyers – who are waiting for their conditions to be met. interview be broken for Mueller – have not yet received any response from the special adviser or his deputies.We do not expect Mueller to agree, "said one informed of the discussions. "But if he did, well, we would face a really interesting choice."
Despite stalemate, Trump 's lawyer Jane Raskin continues to negotiate regularly with Mueller' s assistant, Jim Quarles, about the possibility of the interview, including the interview. time, place and setting, according to people familiar with his role.
Meanwhile, within the Justice Department, police authorities have been discussing several scenarios in which the prosecution of people who could be charged In these scenarios, these people said that some prosecutors of the '' Mueller's team could go with their records to the headquarters of the Department of Justice or in US law offices, said these people
. some cases have already begun. Last month, a new group of prosecutors from the Ministry of Justice was assigned to a case of Russian people and companies accused of using fake social media accounts to try to influence voters in 2016. At the time, people close to the investigation said the prosecutors were involved because the case would probably be entrusted to the federal prosecutor's office in Washington.
[Mueller signals outside prosecutors may eventually take over Russian trolls case]
On Friday, when a grand jury working with Mueller's office indicted 12 Russian military officers, Rosenstein said the case would be handled by
Mueller has practical reasons for entrusting these cases to other prosecutors – collectively, charges are laid against 25 Russian citizens who are not likely to be arrested and extradited, so that charges could persist
Those responsible for enforcing Laws have discussed similar transfers from other cases on which Mueller is investigating, according to two people familiar with these discussions.
There have been other public indications that some areas under investigation are about to disappear. The conviction dates were set for two people who pleaded guilty to the charges and cooperated with the investigation: George Papadopolous, former Trump foreign policy advisor, and Richard Pinedo, a Californian man accused of treason. a Russian troll operation. Mueller has signaled that he intends to do more work. Prosecutors have twice called for the conviction of Flynn, who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI seven months ago. He was back in court last week, reiterating his cooperation. Prosecutors offered to update the judge on August 24.
[Former national security adviser Michael Flynn is still cooperating with Mueller and eager to have case wrapped up, court hears]
The indictment of Friday's Russian hacking revealed a surprising level of detail, which means that the intelligence services and law enforcement agencies were ready to expose their arguments. "Said Aloke Chakravarty, a former Justice Department attorney who continued the attack on the Boston Marathon.
"If they can do it in a way that they can prove beyond a reasonable doubt, they open all possible links. , the aides and the accomplices, "he said, adding that the indictment could serve as a springboard for further conspiracy charges later.
L & # 39; indictment has not named or accused WikiLeaks, the anti-secret group headed by Julian Assange, published thousands of Democratic e-mails just before the 2016 party nomination convention.
The document , however, accused the Russian intelligence agents, using a fake online The character of Guccifer 2.0, discussed the release with WikiLeaks
Barry Pollack, a lawyer of Julian Assange, the founder of the organization, has stated that the conduct described – soliciting sources of information and publishing – resembled how
"The description of the actions of the Organization 1 in the indictment is identical to the description of any journalistic organization, "said Pollack.
Rosali n / a S. Helderman contributed to this report.
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