Special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into the 2016 U.S. presidential race remains an ongoing criminal matter involving multiple aspects unbeknownst to the public, his team said in a court filing late Wednesday, suggesting no end in sight for the probe as it starts its second year.
The special counsel’s office specified the continuing nature of its probe in a 23-page document filed in D.C. federal court in response to a lawsuit brought by several news outlets seeking access to search warrants, applications, affidavits and other records related Mr. Mueller’s investigation into the 2016 race.
“The request for broad unsealing of search warrant materials should be denied,” Mr. Mueller’s team wrote in the filing. “The Special Counsel’s investigation is not a closed matter, but an ongoing criminal investigation with multiple lines of non-public inquiry. No right of public access exists to search warrant materials in an ongoing investigation.”
A former FBI director, Mr. Mueller was appointed special counsel by the Department of Justice last May following the firing of his successor, James Comey, and tasked with continuing the latter’s investigation into the 2016 election, including any possible ties between President Trump’s campaign and Russia.
The probe has since expanded to cover whether Mr. Trump obstructed justice by firing Mr. Comey, according to multiple news reports. Some 22 individuals and entities have been charged by the special counsel’s office so far, including several former members of the Trump presidential election campaign.
The Associated Press, CNN, New York Times, Washington Post and Politico asked a federal judge last month to unseal documents related to the special counsel’s probe, and Mr. Mueller’s office responded Wednesday by arguing that complying could jeopardize “substantial law-enforcement interests.”
“The investigation consists of multiple lines of inquiry within the overall scope of the Special Counsel’s authority. Many aspects of the investigation are factually and legally interconnected: they involve overlapping courses of conduct, relationships, and events, and they rely on similar sources, methods, and techniques,” Mr. Mueller’s team wrote.
“Disclosure at this juncture could reveal sources and methods, directions of inquiry, persons within the scope of the investigation, and other related law-enforcement matters that would prejudice important public interests in a fair and thorough inquiry.”
A total of five people have pleaded guilty so far to charges brought by the special counsel’s Russia probe, including two former members of the 2016 Trump campaign: former aide George Papadopoulos and former national security adviser Michael Flynn.
Mr. Trump has repeatedly decried the probe as a “witch hunt,” and last month he tweeted it “MUST END NOW.”
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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