Anticipation builds in Washington ahead of Mueller’s first charges

Anticipation is building in the nation’s capital ahead of Monday’s reported indictments stemming from special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian election meddling.

While the individuals being charged could be taken into custody as early as Monday, according to CNN, even key lawmakers on Sunday knew little about the potential indictments, which have reportedly been authorized by a federal grand jury and are currently sealed under a judge’s orders.

{mosads}Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), who as the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee has been one of the leaders in Congress’s probe into Russian election interference and any potential ties between President Trump’s campaign and Moscow, said Sunday morning that he is not aware of who may be charged.

“Well, you know, there are two people I think just from press reporting that it is likely to be, either Mike Flynn or Paul Manafort,” Schiff told ABC’s “This Week,” referencing the president’s former national security adviser and campaign chairman, respectively.

“We haven’t been informed of who it is, and I don’t think it would been appropriate for Bob Mueller to tell us,” he continued.

Schiff went on to note that a Manafort indictment would begin to address some key questions in the investigation. Manafort was present at a 2016 Trump Tower meeting between campaign officials and a Russian attorney who has been linked to the Kremlin. 

Much like the public, members of Congress could only speculate about potential charges and what they will mean to the extensive investigation.

A Republican senator who sits on one of the committees on the Senate side that is also conducting a Russia probe said she knows little about the sealed charges.

“Well from the very beginning, this investigation has gone along two tracks. One is the independent counsel’s investigation to see if there’s criminal wrongdoing and it looks like we’re going to find out as early as tomorrow about some indictments in that area,” said Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), speaking on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”

Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), who in recent weeks has publicly feuded with Trump, made similar comments on Sunday.

“Well, I have no idea. I don’t know the substance,” Corker told “Face the Nation” when asked how the charges could affect the GOP’s agenda. “I have no knowledge, like you, we’ll wait and see what happens.”

Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), who chairs the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, noted during a Sunday show appearance that he also is not aware of who may be charged or why, but argued Mueller’s probe should continue despite suggestions from some members of the GOP that the investigation should come to an end.

“I would encourage my Republican friends — give the guy a chance to do his job. The result will be known by the facts, by what he uncovers,” Gowdy told “Fox News Sunday.” “The personalities involved are much less important to me than the underlying facts. So, I would — I would say give the guy a chance to do his job.”

The possibility of the imminent charges comes after several months of investigating by Mueller, who was appointed to oversee the probe in May following Trump’s firing of FBI Director James Comey.