The first charges have been issued in the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 US presidential election and possible collusion by members of the Trump campaign and arrests could be imminent, according to several reports.



CNN, Reuters and the Wall Street Journal reported that a grand jury has approved charges filed by investigators led by special counsel Robert Mueller against at least one person, and the indictment has been sealed by a federal judge, pending arrest. There was no information of the nature of the charges or their target. The reports suggested one or more arrests could take place as early as Monday.

That would take the broad investigation into Russia’s role in the election, which has hung over Donald Trump’s presidency since it began, to a new level, raising questions over how the White House and its allies would respond. Trump and his supporters have disparaged Mueller and tried to portray him as a sympathiser of Hillary Clinton and James Comey, the FBI chief fired by Trump.

Some Republicans called on Friday for Mueller to step down. A former Trump adviser, Sebastian Gorka, who has frequently been a mouthpiece for the president on television, tweeted: “If this man’s team executes warrants this weekend he should stripped of his authority … Then HE should be investigated.”

Any attempt by Trump to have Mueller fired would trigger a severe political crisis. There are also mounting concerns among US allies over how the president, besieged at home, would act on the world stage, especially in the western Pacific where there is a worsening nuclear standoff with North Korea.

US intelligence agencies concluded in January that Russia interfered in the election to try to help Trump defeat Clinton through a campaign of hacking and releasing embarrassing emails, and disseminating propaganda via social media.

Mueller, a former FBI director, is investigating whether Trump campaign officials colluded with those Russian efforts, and whether they sought to obstruct justice by covering up such collusion. The investigation has also widened to examine issues of money laundering, tax evasion and other financial crimes.

Paul Manafort, Trump’s campaign manager in the summer of 2016, is known to be one of the targets of the Mueller investigation. His house was searched in a pre-dawn raid in July. There was no reply from his spokesman to a request for comment on the reports that charges had been approved by a grand jury.

Carter Page, who temporarily served as a Trump foreign policy adviser, and Michael Flynn, who was national security adviser in the early weeks of the administration, have also been under close scrutiny. The investigation has been inching closer to Trump himself. Earlier this month the president’s former spokesman, Sean Spicer, and chief of staff, Reince Priebus, were questioned by Mueller’s team.

Peter Carr, a spokesman for Mueller, declined to comment to Reuters or CNN on Friday.



The Kremlin has denied the allegations.



Mueller was appointed by the justice department to lead the investigation a week after Trump fired Comey, who was leading a federal investigation into possible collusion with Russia.



Trump initially said he fired Comey because his leadership of the FBI was inadequate and hurt morale. In a later interview with NBC he cited “this Russia thing” as his reason.