The first charges in the ongoing investigation led by special counsel Robert Mueller were approved by a federal grand jury in Washington D.C. on Friday evening, and anyone who is charged could be taken into custody as soon as Monday.
Details of what the charges entail are still unclear as they "are still sealed under orders from a federal judge," CNN reported, citing sources briefed on the matters. "Plans were prepared Friday for anyone charged to be taken into custody as soon as Monday."
Mueller was appointed to lead the investigation in May, following President Donald Trump's firing of former FBI Director James Comey, who had opened a federal investigation in July 2016, CNN reported. The special counsel is investigating if Trump's campaign had colluded with the Russian government, and potential obstruction of justice by the president for interfering with the investigation.
Trump, as well as his associates, have vehemently denied all of the allegations of collusion.
Mueller has been authorized to probe "any matters that arose or may arise directly from the investigation," CNN reported. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who had been at the center of Comey's controversial firing, is overseeing the Russia investigation and therefore would have known any charges before they received an approval from the grand jury.
Mueller "has widened to focus on possible financial crimes, some unconnected to the 2016 elections, alongside the ongoing scrutiny of possible illegal coordination with Russian spy agencies," as Salon previously reported.
While there are still no details on the charges that have been filed, Paul Manafort, Trump's former campaign chair, has said he expects to be indicted by Mueller. Manafort's home was raided by the FBI at the end of July and the realtor who helped him purchase the home testified last week before the grand jury.
Roger Stone, a longtime friend of Trump, went on an unhinged Twitter rant on Friday night which was directed at various mainstream media figures, primarily CNN's Don Lemon. It's not clear that the rant is related to the news of files being charged, but unsurprisingly, he demanded the spotlight be placed on Hillary Clinton.
".@donlemon stop lying about about the Clinton's and Uranium you ignorant lying covksucker !!!! You fake news you dumb piece of shit," Stone tweeted.
.@donlemon must be confronted, humiliated, mocked and punished. Dumber than dog shit.
— Roger Stone (@RogerJStoneJr) October 28, 2017
".@donlemon must be confronted, humiliated, mocked and punished. Dumber than dog shit," he wrote in a second tweet.
.@donlemon stop lying about about the Clinton's and Uranium you ignorant lying covksucker !!!! You fake news you dumb piece of shit. — Roger Stone (@RogerJStoneJr) October 28, 2017
".@donlemon there r no credible "fact-checks" that clear the Clinton's on Uranium. Even the people at CNN say u are a buffoon behind you back," he wrote in another tweet.
.@donlemon there r no credible "fact-checks" that clear the Clinton's on Uranium. Even the people at CNN say u are a buffoon behind you back
— Roger Stone (@RogerJStoneJr) October 28, 2017
Shares