WSJ: Mueller Subpoenaed the Trump Campaign for Russia-Related Documents

Special counsel Robert Mueller in mid-October issued a subpoena against the Trump campaign to obtain Russia-related documents from over a dozen campaign officials, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.

According to the report, which is based on a single anonymous source, the subpoena requested all campaign documents with certain Russia-related keywords. The Trump campaign had previously been complying with Mueller’s requests, and the source said the subpoena took them by surprise.

The Wall Street Journal reports:

Sending a subpoena to an entity that says it has been cooperating with document requests isn’t unusual in cases in which prosecutors have some concern that their demands aren’t being met promptly or aren’t being entirely fulfilled, former prosecutors said. A subpoena can serve as a backup, to make sure the recipient is complying as promised, and as a reminder that failure to provide documents as demanded would count as obstructing a grand-jury investigation. Mr. Mueller’s team had previously issued subpoenas individually to several top campaign officials, including former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and former national security adviser Mike Flynn. Mr. Manafort currently faces charges including money laundering and tax evasion. He has pleaded not guilty and his attorney has called the charges “ridiculous.”

The subpoena against the campaign would have come prior to the special counsel’s charges against former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and his associate Rick Gates for money laundering, conspiracy, and failure to register as a foreign agent, which were filed Oct. 30. It marks the first time the Trump campaign has been ordered to turn information over to the special counsel.

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