White House Chief of Staff John Kelly said that he expected the investigation led by Special Counsel Robert Mueller into the alleged ties between US President Donald Trump and Russia to be completed in the near future.
"[The investigation] should wrap up soon. I mean it would seem that there towards the end of the witness pile, and I don't know how much longer it could possibly go on, but we're in great hopes that it wraps up," Kelly said in an interview with the Fox News broadcaster Monday.
The statement was made a few hours later a grand jury indicted US President Donald Trump's former campaign manager, Paul Manafort, and his deputy, Rick Gates, on 12 counts, including money laundering and working as unregistered foreign agents for the Ukrainian government. These are the first indictments emanating from Mueller's probe into the Trump campaign, Russia and the 2016 US presidential election.
READ MORE: Manafort Indictment Unlikely to Hurt Trump Unless Mueller Uncovers Russia Ties
Both Manafort and Gates both pleaded not guilty to all charges filed by the grand jury. They were released, but will remain under house arrest.
READ MORE: Manafort, Gates Placed Under House Arrest
The Justice Department has also charged Trump campaign adviser, George Papadopoulos, and found him pleaded guilty for lying to the FBI in connection with Mueller's investigation after his arrest in July.
The investigation of alleged Russian interference in the US election, as well as alleged links of the Trump campaign with Russia, denied by the White House, is being conducted by the FBI and Congress. Moscow has repeatedly refuted all allegations. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the accusations "absolutely groundless."
