Trump Russia investigator to make first arrests
Special investigation to hand down indictments over alleged election meddling

The investigation into alleged collusion between Donald Trump’s presidential campaign and Russia will take a step forward today when the first charges are handed down.
CNN says a federal grand jury in Washington has approved the first indictments in the investigation led by special counsel Robert Mueller, and that people are expected to be taken into custody as soon as this afternoon.
It is not yet known who has been charged - or with what - but the development “sharply escalates the stakes for Donald Trump and his administration”, says The Independent.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Among those investigated are Paul Manafort, Trump’s former campaign manager, General Michael Flynn, his short-serving national security adviser and Carter Page, his Russia adviser during the election campaign.
CNN reports that Mueller’s team has issued subpoenas for testimony to a handful of figures close to Manafort and others involved in the infamous Trump Tower meeting between Russians and campaign officials last summer. FBI agents raided Manafort’s home in July.
Mueller was appointed by the Department of Justice to look into links between Trump’s 2016 campaign and the Kremlin. He has now extended his investigation to include the business dealings of former Trump aides, the President’s own financial affairs – and whether anyone in the administration tried to obstruct the investigation.
Charging a Trump aide with criminal offences “could upend the presidency and significantly undermine Republican chances in next November’s mid-term elections”, says The Sunday Times.
Democrats are determined to impeach Trump but will need to win back control of the House of Representatives to have any chance of moving against him.
The President has accused the Democrats of a conspiracy against him.
Reviving an old campaign line, Trump said the timing of the indictments was “not coincidental”, before accusing the Democrats of “using this terrible Witch Hunt for evil politics”.
One of his most bullish supporters also jumped to the president’s defence, “to cast doubt on the reach and integrity of the special counsel”, reports The Guardian.
Appearing on multiple TV news shows, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie raised the possibility that Mueller’s team was engaged in criminal leaks to the media and insisted that Trump himself is not under investigation.
Earlier this week, The Wall Street Journal’s editorial board accused Hillary Clinton and the Democratic National Committee of colluding with Russia over the Trump dossier and called for Mueller to resign and the FBI to be investigated for its “role in Russia’s election interference”.
In addition to Mueller’s probe, three congressional and senate committees are conducting their own investigations into alleged election meddling by Russia.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
The state of Britain's Armed Forces
The Explainer Geopolitical unrest and the unreliability of the Trump administration have led to a frantic re-evaluation of the UK's military capabilities
By The Week UK
-
Anti-anxiety drug has a not-too-surprising effect on fish
Under the radar The fish act bolder and riskier
By Devika Rao, The Week US
-
Crossword: April 21, 2025
The Week's daily crossword
By The Week Staff
-
El Salvador's CECOT prison becomes Washington's go-to destination
IN THE SPOTLIGHT Republicans and Democrats alike are clamoring for access to the Trump administration's extrajudicial deportation camp — for very different reasons
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
Supreme Court takes up Trump birthright appeal
Speed Read The New Jersey Attorney General said a constitutional right like birthright citizenship 'cannot be turned on or off at the whims of a single man'
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
Court slams Trump, senator visits Ábrego García
Speed Read The case 'should be shocking not only to judges' but all Americans with an 'intuitive sense of liberty'
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
The anger fueling the Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez barnstorming tour
Talking Points The duo is drawing big anti-Trump crowds in red states
By Joel Mathis, The Week US
-
Judge threatens Trump team with criminal contempt
Speed Read James Boasberg attempts to hold the White House accountable for disregarding court orders over El Salvador deportation flights
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
Why the GOP is nervous about Ken Paxton's Senate run
Today's Big Question A MAGA-establishment battle with John Cornyn will be costly
By Joel Mathis, The Week US
-
UK-US trade deal: can Keir Starmer trust Donald Trump?
Today's Big Question White House insiders say an agreement is 'two weeks' away but can Britain believe it?
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK
-
A running list of Trump's second-term national security controversies
In Depth Several scandals surrounding national security have rocked the Trump administration
By Justin Klawans, The Week US