WASHINGTON _ Special Counsel Robert Mueller's grand jury has more time to complete its work.
Beryl Howell, chief judge of the U.S. District Court in Washington, where the panel convenes to hear evidence in secret, extended its term, court spokeswoman Lisa Klem said on Friday. The grand jury began hearing evidence in July 2017, two months after Mueller was appointed to investigate Russian interference in the 2016 presidential elections and potential ties to President Donald Trump's campaign.
While Klem declined to say how much longer the jurors may sit, federal rules of criminal procedure allow for a six-month extension upon a court finding that it's in the public interest.
Among those the panel has indicted: former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort; the president's first national security adviser, Michael Flynn; three Russian businesses and 13 individuals who allegedly conspired to roil the U.S. prior to the election using social media; and a dozen Russian intelligence agents accused of hacking Democrats' computers.
