The special counsel investigating allegations of Russian interference in the US presidential election has convened a grand jury in Washington, according to the Wall Street Journal and Reuters, in a sign that his probe is gathering pace.
It has reportedly begun issuing subpoenas in connection with a meeting last year that included President Donald Trump’s son, his son-in-law and a Russian lawyer.
Legal experts said it meant Robert Mueller, the special counsel, could now begin hearing evidence from sworn witnesses as well as using subpoenas to collect documents.
Mr Mueller is leading the federal investigation into Russian attempts to help Mr Trump win last year’s election and whether there was any collusion with his campaign.
The president has repeatedly dismissed the inquiry as a “witch hunt”. Hours after details of the grand jury emerged, he appeared before about 9000 supporters in West Virginia to rail against his opponents.
“We didn’t win because of Russia,” he said. “We won because of you.”
He painted the allegations as a “fabrication” of the Washington “swamp” to deny him his election victory.
“I just hope the final determination is a truly honest one, which is what the millions of people who gave us our big win in November deserve and what all Americans who want a better future want and deserve,” he said.
The impanelling of a grand jury suggests Mr Mueller’s work has entered a new phase.
In the US, grand juries are commonly used to weigh evidence in private in order to decide whether charges should be brought.
But in this case, with no charges expected imminently, the most important feature was the additional investigative powers, said Margo Schlanger, professor of law at the University of Michigan.
“That’s the difference now,” she said, adding that witnesses have been able to refuse to co-operation until this point.
“People are going to have to answer Bob Mueller’s questions or take the Fifth Amendment. They are going to have say, ‘No, the answer might incriminate me.’”
The question of links to Russia has cast a deep cloud over the White House. Every week fresh revelations have put the administration on the back foot as it fights allegations of a cover-up.
Another grand jury, set up in Virginia, was already investigating Mike Flynn. He was fired as national security adviser in February after admitting he gave misleading statements about meetings with Russian officials.
Since then the questions have only deepened.
Last month it emerged that Donald Trump Jr, Paul Manafort, the then campaign chairman, and Jared Kushner, the president’s son in law, met a Russian lawyer they had been told had damaging information about Hillary Clinton.
Subpoenas related to that 2016 meeting at Trump Tower suggest Mr Mueller’s investigation has reached the president’s inner circle.
Joshua Dressler, professor of law at Ohio State University, said aggressive prosecutors could almost always persuade a grand jury to issue an indictment.
“My sense is that special counsel Mueller is a fair minded person – and I don’t usually have that view of prosecutors – and that if the investigation does not convince him that there’s a case against someone then I don’t think he would recommend to the grand jurors that they would indict somebody,” he said.
Lawyers for Mr Trump said they were unaware of the grand jury.
“With respect to the news of the federal grand jury, I have no reason to believe that the president is under investigation,” said John Dowd in a statement.
Ty Cobb, White House special counsel who was appointed last month deal with questions about the Russia inquiry, said: "Grand jury matters are typically secret.
“The White House favours anything that accelerates the conclusion of his work fairly. The White House is committed to fully co-operating with Mr Mueller.”
Mr Mueller took over the investigation in May following Mr Trump’s dismissal of James Comey as FBI director.
Since then he has put together a team of high-powered investigators, including prosecutors expert in white collar crime, international bribery and fraud.
This week it emerged that Greg Andres, a former Justice Department official, had left private practice to become the 16th lawyer on the team, suggesting the investigation would run into at least 2018.
Mr Trump’s defence team has been looking for potential conflicts of interests among investigators and the president himself has said any probe into his business dealings would fall outside their remit.
As a result, senators on Thursday moved to protect Mr Mueller. They introduced two bipartisan bills to make it harder for him to be fired by the president.
“Our bill allows judicial review of any decision to terminate a counsel to make sure it's done for the reasons cited in the regulations rather than political motivation,” said Lindsey Graham, a Republican senator, who co-sponsored one of the bills with Cory Booker, of the Democratic party.
RESULT
West Brom 2 Liverpool 2
West Brom: Livermore (79'), Rondón (88' )
Liverpool: Ings (4'), Salah (72')
Tips for newlyweds to better manage finances
All couples are unique and have to create a financial blueprint that is most suitable for their relationship, says Vijay Valecha, chief investment officer at Century Financial. He offers his top five tips for couples to better manage their finances.
Discuss your assets and debts: When married, it’s important to understand each other’s personal financial situation. It’s necessary to know upfront what each party brings to the table, as debts and assets affect spending habits and joint loan qualifications. Discussing all aspects of their finances as a couple prevents anyone from being blindsided later.
Decide on the financial/saving goals: Spouses should independently list their top goals and share their lists with one another to shape a joint plan. Writing down clear goals will help them determine how much to save each month, how much to put aside for short-term goals, and how they will reach their long-term financial goals.
Set a budget: A budget can keep the couple be mindful of their income and expenses. With a monthly budget, couples will know exactly how much they can spend in a category each month, how much they have to work with and what spending areas need to be evaluated.
Decide who manages what: When it comes to handling finances, it’s a good idea to decide who manages what. For example, one person might take on the day-to-day bills, while the other tackles long-term investments and retirement plans.
Money date nights: Talking about money should be a healthy, ongoing conversation and couples should not wait for something to go wrong. They should set time aside every month to talk about future financial decisions and see the progress they’ve made together towards accomplishing their goals.
Notable groups (UAE time)
Jordan Spieth, Si Woo Kim, Henrik Stenson (12.47pm)
Justin Thomas, Justin Rose, Louis Oosthuizen (12.58pm)
Hideki Matsuyama, Brooks Koepka, Tommy Fleetwood (1.09pm)
Sergio Garcia, Jason Day, Zach Johnson (4.04pm)
Rickie Fowler, Paul Casey, Adam Scott (4.26pm)
Dustin Johnson, Charl Schwartzel, Rory McIlroy (5.48pm)
Analysis
Members of Syria's Alawite minority community face threat in their heartland after one of the deadliest days in country’s recent history. Read more
THE DETAILS
Kaala
Dir: Pa. Ranjith
Starring: Rajinikanth, Huma Qureshi, Easwari Rao, Nana Patekar
Rating: 1.5/5
Seven tips from Emirates NBD
1. Never respond to e-mails, calls or messages asking for account, card or internet banking details
2. Never store a card PIN (personal identification number) in your mobile or in your wallet
3. Ensure online shopping websites are secure and verified before providing card details
4. Change passwords periodically as a precautionary measure
5. Never share authentication data such as passwords, card PINs and OTPs (one-time passwords) with third parties
6. Track bank notifications regarding transaction discrepancies
7. Report lost or stolen debit and credit cards immediately
BAD%20BOYS%3A%20RIDE%20OR%20DIE
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
The specs
Engine: Direct injection 4-cylinder 1.4-litre
Power: 150hp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: From Dh139,000
On sale: Now
A State of Passion
Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi
Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah
Rating: 4/5
The biog
Hometown: Cairo
Age: 37
Favourite TV series: The Handmaid’s Tale, Black Mirror
Favourite anime series: Death Note, One Piece and Hellsing
Favourite book: Designing Brand Identity, Fifth Edition
Common OCD symptoms and how they manifest
Checking: the obsession or thoughts focus on some harm coming from things not being as they should, which usually centre around the theme of safety. For example, the obsession is “the building will burn down”, therefore the compulsion is checking that the oven is switched off.
Contamination: the obsession is focused on the presence of germs, dirt or harmful bacteria and how this will impact the person and/or their loved ones. For example, the obsession is “the floor is dirty; me and my family will get sick and die”, the compulsion is repetitive cleaning.
Orderliness: the obsession is a fear of sitting with uncomfortable feelings, or to prevent harm coming to oneself or others. Objectively there appears to be no logical link between the obsession and compulsion. For example,” I won’t feel right if the jars aren’t lined up” or “harm will come to my family if I don’t line up all the jars”, so the compulsion is therefore lining up the jars.
Intrusive thoughts: the intrusive thought is usually highly distressing and repetitive. Common examples may include thoughts of perpetrating violence towards others, harming others, or questions over one’s character or deeds, usually in conflict with the person’s true values. An example would be: “I think I might hurt my family”, which in turn leads to the compulsion of avoiding social gatherings.
Hoarding: the intrusive thought is the overvaluing of objects or possessions, while the compulsion is stashing or hoarding these items and refusing to let them go. For example, “this newspaper may come in useful one day”, therefore, the compulsion is hoarding newspapers instead of discarding them the next day.
Source: Dr Robert Chandler, clinical psychologist at Lighthouse Arabia
WORLD CUP SEMI-FINALS
England v New Zealand (Saturday, 12pm)
Wales v South Africa (Sunday, 1pm)
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MATCH INFO
Inter Milan v Juventus
Saturday, 10.45pm (UAE)
Watch the match on BeIN Sports
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Fly Etihad or Emirates from the UAE to Moscow from 2,763 return per person return including taxes.
Where to stay
Trips on the Golden Eagle Trans-Siberian cost from US$16,995 (Dh62,414) per person, based on two sharing.
TALE OF THE TAPE
Manny Pacquiao
Record: 59-6-2 (38 KOs)
Age: 38
Weight: 146lbs
Height: 166cm
Reach: 170cm
Jeff Horn
Record: 16-0-1 (11 KOs)
Age: 29
Weight: 146.2lbs
Height: 175cm
Reach: 173cm
