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U.S. NEWS Friday 4 august 2017

AP sources: Mueller using Amid tensions with Trump:

grand jury in Russia probe Congress recessing, leaving much undone

By CHAD DAY Continued from Front actions as “an important in Congress simply can’t
ERIC TUCKER step towards filling criti- bring themselves to vote
Associated Press Last week’s failure of their cal roles throughout the for it. But with a Republican
WASHINGTON (AP) — Special Counsel Robert Muel- Obamacare repeal efforts administration.”Indeed in the White House and the
ler is using a grand jury in Washington as part of an after seven years of ar- GOP lawmakers have party controlling both the
investigation into potential coordination between the dent campaign promises complained all year that House and the Senate, it’s
Trump campaign and Russia, according to a person still stung. And Republicans they’re not getting enough the GOP’s responsibility to
familiar with the probe. The use of a grand jury, a stan- have also failed to make credit for the things they deliver the votes.
dard prosecution tool in criminal investigations, sug- much progress on other are doing, as opposed to The White House and con-
gests that Mueller and his team of investigators are marquee agenda items, criticism for what they are gressional Republicans
likely to hear from witnesses and demand documents like a tax overhaul or an not. “We have not done are also promising action
in the coming weeks. The person who confirmed to infrastructure bill, while fall- well on the big events,” said early this fall to change the
The Associated Press that Mueller had turned to a ing behind on the annual Sen. Tim Scott of S.Carolina. loophole-choked tax code
grand jury was not authorized to discuss the investiga- spending bills needed to “But the run of the mill, the and lower rates for both
tion by name and spoke on condition of anonymity. keep the lights on in govern- bipartisan legislation, that corporations and individu-
The Wall Street Journal first reported the grand jury.
Grand juries are common vehicles to subpoena wit-
nesses and records, though they do not suggest any
criminal charges are near.
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. Mueller was
a former federal prosecutor in Washington before be-
coming FBI director, where he spent 12 years before
stepping down in 2013. Meanwhile, lawyers for Presi-
dent Donald Trump said they were unaware of the
existence of a grand jury and had no information to
suggest the president himself was under federal inves-
tigation.
“With respect to the news of the federal grand jury, I
have no reason to believe that the president is under
investigation,” defense attorney John Dowd told the
AP. Ty Cobb, special counsel to the president, said he
wasn’t aware Mueller had started using a new grand
jury. “Grand jury matters are typically secret,” Cobb
said. “The White House favors anything that accel-
erates the conclusion of his work fairly. ... The White
House is committed to fully cooperating with Mr. Muel-
ler.” Mueller was appointed special counsel in May by President Donald Trump waves as he walks to Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House,
the Justice Department following the firing by Trump Thursday, Aug. 3, 2017, in Washington. Trump is en route to Huntington, W.Va.
(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
of FBI Director James Comey.
He has since assembled a team of more than a doz- ment. A fight on that looms never gets actual media als. After their meltdown on
en investigators, including current and former Justice this fall or winter, along with attention, I think we’ve had health care, Republicans
Department prosecutors with experience in interna- the threat of a government a fairly robust six months.” are particularly determined
tional bribery, organized crime and financial fraud. shutdown if Trump presses Like other Republicans, to succeed with a tax over-
That team has been working at an undisclosed lo- for money for his border Scott cited the GOP’s suc- haul, with some arguing
cation in Washington, so presenting evidence inside wall that Democrats are cess in overturning a series that if they succeed in giv-
a federal courthouse in Washington could be more certain to reject. of Obama administration ing voters a tax break, the
convenient for the group of investigators than work- “We’ve got to do better,” regulations, employing the Obamacare repeal failure
ing out of Alexandria. News of the grand jury came as said Sen. Ron Johnson of little-used Congressional will be forgiven and forgot-
senators introduced two bipartisan bills aimed at pro- Wisconsin. Review Act. Yet what law- ten.
tecting Mueller from being fired by Trump, with both In a final burst of action makers left undone prom- But core tax overhaul prin-
parties signaling resistance to any White House effort Thursday, the Senate over- ises to make for an ugly ciples — such as whether
to derail the investigation into Russian meddling in last whelmingly approved a September on Capitol Hill. the effort would add to the
year’s election. Trump’s defense team has been look- Food and Drug Adminis- Two must-do items will budget deficit — haven’t
ing into potential conflicts of interest among members tration funding bill, and dominate the agenda: in- been ironed out, much less
of Mueller’s team, such as past political contributions agreed to more than creasing the government’s the devilish details.
to Democrats including Hillary Clinton, and Trump has 60 Trump administration debt limit to prevent a And a wild card element
warned that any effort by Mueller to look into his fi- nominees, more execu- catastrophic default on is whether Trump will press
nances would fall outside the scope of Mueller’s ap- tive branch nominations in U.S. obligations like interest to pay for the U.S.-Mexico
pointment. Any firing of Mueller would have to be a single day than the Sen- payments and Social Secu- border wall as part of the
done by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, ate had approved all year rity checks; and passing a spending bill. That could
who appointed Mueller and who has said he has seen to date. Republicans have temporary spending bill to spark a confrontation with
no basis for dismissal. bitterly blamed Democrats’ keep government agen- Democrats, and even
Trump attorney Jay Sekulow told Fox News on Thurs- foot-dragging on nominees cies up and running. threaten a shutdown. Cool-
day that “the president is not thinking about firing for many of their problems, The debt limit increase is er heads may counsel the
Robert Mueller so the speculation that’s out there is and Majority Leader Mitch particularly nettlesome White House to put off that
just incorrect.”q McConnell heralded the and many Republicans confrontation until later.q