The Trump administration accused Russia of an ongoing cyber-campaign targeting the U.S. power grid and hit a group of Kremlin-linked companies and Russian nationals with sanctions for election interference.

The sanctions were announced only hours after President Trump joined the leaders of France, Germany and Britain in condemning Russia for a nerve agent attack on a former spy in England.

A rare joint statement explicitly declared that “there is no plausible alternative explanation” other than Russian responsibility for the March 4 attack on Sergei Skripal and his daughter.

The accusations of energy grid attacks and sanctions are some of the strongest actions by the Trump administration as the President has publicly doubted Russia’s involvement in efforts to sow discord in the U.S. and other Western countries.

U.S. national security officials said the FBI, the Homeland Security Department and U.S. intelligence agencies determined Russian intelligence and others were behind the attacks on the energy sector.

The officials said the Russians deliberately chose U.S. energy industry targets, obtaining access to computer systems and then conducting “network reconnaissance” of industrial control systems that run American factories and the electric grid.

The U.S. government has helped private sector businesses kick out the Russians from all systems known to have been penetrated, according to officials.

The announcement comes as the U.S. hits Moscow and close associates of Russian president Vladimir Putin with more sanctions for efforts to influence the 2016 election.

Trump top lawyer donated 'prohibited' amount to his 2020 campaign

“The administration is confronting and countering malign Russian cyberactivity, including their attempted interference in US elections, destructive cyberattacks, and intrusions targeting critical infrastructure,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement. “These targeted sanctions are a part of a broader effort to address the ongoing nefarious attacks emanating from Russia.”

The list of Russians now under sanction includes the 13 indicted last month by U.S. special counsel Robert Mueller as part of his Russia-related investigation into alleged election interference.

Also sanctioned were five Russian companies, including the Internet Research Agency, a “troll farm” linked to members of Putin’s inner circle.

The company was engaged in “information warfare” meant to “sow discord” in the lead up to the 2016 election through th use of social media accounts and other methods.

The sanctions also target Yevgeniy Viktorovich Prigozhin, also known as “Putin’s chef.”

The former caterer, who made his fortune through government contracts, is believed to have bankrolled the Internet research Agency’s troll army and is also running a shadow group of mercenaries in Syria.

Prigozhin and others mentioned in the sanctions were indicted in Mueller’s probe, which is also examining possible links between Trump’s campaign and Russian interference.

The Treasury Department said outright Thursday that Russian intelligence and military both directly interfered in the American election and were “directly responsible” for the NotPetya cyberattack that hit businesses across Europe last June.

Russia’s deputy foreign minister, Sergei Ryabkov, told state media that the Kremlin is responding calmly to the new sanctions and “taking this in our stride.”

He added that Russia has “begun preparing retaliatory measures.”

Ryabkov suggests the Trump administration timed the sanctions to coincide with this weekend’s presidential election in Russia.

Putin is expected to sail to victory.

Earlier Thursday, Russia expelled British diplomats in retaliation for a U.K. effort earlier this week.

Prime minister Theresa May on Wednesday expelled 23 Russian diplomats from England she said were working as spies and announced the freezing of assets or the detention of people suspected of “hostile activity.”

Trump, May, French president Emmanual Macron and German chancellor Angela Merkel said in a rare joint statement that Russia’s failure to respond to Britain’s “legitimate request” for an explanation about the nerve agent attack “further underlines its responsibility.”

Businessman entangled in Trump-Russia probe doubled as U.S. spy

The leaders say the use of a chemical weapon is “an assault on U.K. sovereignty” and “a breach of international law.”

Trump, who has been criticized for his calls for warmer relations with Russia despite the U.S. intelligence community’s unanimous agreement regarding 2016 election meddling, equivocated in his initial response to the attack.

“It looks like it. I spoke with the prime minister and we are in deep discussions,” he said Thursday. “Very sad situation. Certainly looks like the Russians were behind it.”</s>Donald Trump. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

The US Treasury Department on Thursday announced sanctions on the Russian nationals and entities charged last month as part of the special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation with conspiring to interfere in the 2016 US election.

The Internet Research Agency, a notorious Russian troll farm in St. Petersburg that was primarily responsible for carrying out Russia's social-media influence operation during the campaign, was added to the list of sanctioned entities, as were 12 of the 13 Russian nationals charged last month.

The other, a Russian businessman named Yevgeny Viktorovich Prigozhin, was already on the list but was additionally identified as a person linked to the agency.

Prigozhin was accused in Mueller's indictment of using his companies, Concord Management and Consulting LLC and Concord Catering, to bankroll the agency's work. Concord Catering was also on the list before Thursday's announcement but was additionally identified as an entity linked to the agency.

Two other Russian nationals, Sergey Afanasyev and Grigoriy Molchanov, were added to the sanctions list because of their ties to Russia's Main Intelligence Directorate, known as the GRU.

The 12 Russian nationals identified in Mueller's indictment who were added to the sanctions list are Dzheykhun Nasimi Ogly Aslanov, Anna Vladislavovna Bogacheva, Maria Anatolyevna Bovda, Robert Sergeyevich Bovda, Mikhail Leonidovich Burchik, Mikhail Ivanovich Bystrov, Irina Viktorovna Kaverzina, Aleksandra Yuryevna Krylova, Vadim Vladimirovich Podkopaev, Sergey Pavlovich Polozov, Gleb Igorevich Vasilchenko, and Vladimir Venkov.

All were charged with one count of conspiracy to defraud the US. The Internet Research Agency and two defendants were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud, and the agency and four defendants were charged with aggravated identity theft.

In total, Thursday's sanctions penalized 19 individuals and five Russian entities.

The White House press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, released a statement following the indictment last month highlighting that Russia's efforts to meddle in the election began in 2014, before President Donald Trump declared his candidacy.

Sanders added that Trump had "been fully briefed on this matter and is glad to see the Special Counsel's investigation further indicates — that there was NO COLLUSION between the Trump campaign and Russia and that the outcome of the election was not changed or affected."

The indictment did not make a judgment on whether Russia's activities affected the election's outcome, nor did it name any Americans as knowing co-conspirators.

In addition to penalizing the Russian nationals named in Mueller's indictment, the Treasury sanctioned individuals linked to Russian intelligence and to Russia's Federal Security Service, the FSB.

Officials also said Thursday that Russia had tried to penetrate the US's cyber grid and that the new sanctions were designed to punish actors responsible for the attempted cyberattack.

Thursday's move marks the White House's most significant response yet to Russia's interference in the 2016 election. It comes more than a month after a congressional deadline for the Trump administration to enact sanctions in response to Russia's election meddling.

At the time of the deadline — outlined in the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, which Trump enacted in August — the State Department said it did not need to do so because just the law's existence was enough to deter Russian defense sales.

Further details were included in a classified report delivered to Congress, the State Department said.

With Thursday's announcement, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said the administration was "confronting and countering malign Russian cyber activity, including their attempted interference in US elections, destructive cyberattacks, and intrusions targeting critical infrastructure."

The White House and Trump have also recently drawn sharp scrutiny for what critics characterize as a lukewarm response to a nerve agent attack on a former spy in the UK that Russia is believed to have carried out.

This story is developing. Check back for updates.</s>:

 

 Trump administration announces new Russia sanctions for election interference

 -- The Trump administration announced Thursday it is enacting new sanctions on Russia for its election meddling, a month-and-a-half after missing a congressionally mandated deadline.

 

 CNN, citing an Associated Press report, said the administration has accused Russia of an ongoing, deliberate attempt to penetrate the U.S. energy grid.

 

 The new punishments include sanctions on the Internet Research Agency, a Russian troll farm that produced divisive political posts on American social media platforms during the 2016 presidential election. Yevgeniy Viktorovich Prigozhin, a financial backer to the Internet Research Agency with deep ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, is also included.

 

 Read more

Trump says he made up trade claims in meeting with Trudeau

 -- President Trump boasted at a private fundraiser Wednesday of making up trade claims during a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau before knowing whether they were true.

 

 "Trudeau came to see me. He's a good guy, Justin. He said, 'No, no, we have no trade deficit with you, we have none. Donald, please,'" Trump said during a speech to donors in Missouri, according to audio obtained by The Washington Post and confirmed to CNN by an attendee. "Nice guy, good-looking guy, comes in -- 'Donald, we have no trade deficit.' He's very proud because everybody else, you know, we're getting killed."

 

 He continued: "I said, 'Wrong, Justin, you do.' I didn't even know. ... I had no idea. I just said, 'You're wrong,'" Trump recalled, the newspaper reported. "You know why? Because we're so stupid. ... And I thought they were smart. I said, 'You're wrong, Justin.' He said, 'Nope, we have no trade deficit.' I said, 'Well, in that case, I feel differently,' I said, 'but I don't believe it.'"

 

 The president appeared to respond to the Post’s story, tweeting Thursday morning: “We do have a Trade Deficit with Canada, as we do with almost all countries (some of them massive). P.M. Justin Trudeau of Canada, a very good guy, doesn’t like saying that Canada has a Surplus vs. the U.S.(negotiating), but they do...they almost all do...and that’s how I know!”

President confirms CNBC contributor Kudlow will be next economic advisor

 -- President Trump took to Twitter Thursday to announce that he would be bringing in CNBC’s Larry Kudlow as his next economic advisor.

 

 The president said: “Larry Kudlow will be my Chief Economic Advisor as Director of the National Economic Council. Our Country will have many years of Great Economic & Financial Success, with low taxes, unparalleled innovation, fair trade and an ever expanding labor force leading the way! #MAGA”

Trump is hiring Kudlow to replace Gary Cohn, who resigned last week from the role after an apparent disagreement with the president over trade tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.

 

 Following Cohn’s departure, Trump said: "Gary has been my chief economic adviser and did a superb job in driving our agenda, helping to deliver historic tax cuts and reforms and unleashing the American economy once again. He is a rare talent, and I thank him for his dedicated service to the American people.”

 

 Kudlow previously worked under the Reagan administration.

Another Trump attorney involved in Stormy Daniels case

 -- New documents obtained by CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360" on Wednesday suggest a deeper link than previously known between the Trump Organization and the company that Donald Trump's personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, established in 2016 to pay off porn star Stormy Daniels in exchange for silence about her alleged affair with Trump.

 

 The documents also offer the first evidence of an individual employed by the Trump Organization -- other than Cohen -- being involved in an ongoing legal battle regarding Daniels' alleged affair with Trump.

 

 A "demand for arbitration" document dated February 22, 2018, names Jill Martin, a top lawyer at the Trump Organization based in California, as the attorney representing "EC, LLC." "EC, LLC" is Essential Consultants, according to Daniels' lawsuit, a company that Cohen established in the weeks leading up to the 2016 presidential election to facilitate a payment of $130,000 to Daniels.

 

 Read more</s>The Trump administration on Thursday imposed sanctions on 19 Russians for alleged interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, including 13 indicted by special counsel Robert Mueller as part of his Russia-related investigation.

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration on Thursday imposed sanctions on 19 Russians for alleged interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, including 13 indicted by special counsel Robert Mueller as part of his Russia-related investigation.

Also targeted were five Russian companies, including the Internet Research Agency, which is accused of orchestrating a mass online disinformation campaign to affect the election that Republican Donald Trump won over Democrat Hillary Clinton.

The Treasury Department announced the sanctions amid withering criticism of Trump and his administration for failing to use the congressionally mandated authority to punish Russia for the election interference. Trump himself has been skeptical of the allegations.

The sanctions are the first use of the powers that Congress passed last year in retaliation for Moscow’s meddling. The targets include officials working for the Russian military intelligence agency, GRU. Thursday’s action freezes any assets the individuals and entities may have in the United States and bar Americans from doing business with them.

The department said in a statement that the GRU and Russia’s military interfered in the 2016 election and were “directly responsible” for the NotPetya cyberattack that hit businesses across Europe in June 2017.

“The administration is confronting and countering malign Russian cyber activity, including their attempted interference in U.S. elections, destructive cyberattacks, and intrusions targeting critical infrastructure,” said Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. “These targeted sanctions are a part of a broader effort to address the ongoing nefarious attacks emanating from Russia.”

Among those penalized was Yevgeny Prigozhin, who is known as Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “chef” and who ran the St. Petersburg-based Internet Research Agency, and 12 of the agency’s employees. They were included in Mueller’s indictment last month.

The Internet Research Agency “tampered with, altered, or caused a misappropriation of information with the purpose or effect of interfering with or undermining election processes and institutions,” specifically the 2016 U.S. presidential race, the department said.

“The IRA created and managed a vast number of fake online personas that posed as legitimate U.S. persons to include grassroots organizations, interest groups, and a state political party on social media,” the Treasury Department statement said. “Through this activity, the IRA posted thousands of ads that reached millions of people online.”

The sanctions also affect the Russian Federal Security Service, or FSB, and six of its employees, for cyberattacks more broadly, including those targeting Russian journalists, opposition figures, foreign politicians and U.S. officials. The Americans members of the diplomatic corps, the military and White House staffers.</s>WASHINGTON — The Trump administration announced Thursday it is enacting new sanctions on Russia, including individuals indicted last month by special counsel Robert Mueller, in a sweeping new effort to punish Moscow for its attempts to interfere in the 2016 US election.

The measures come a month-and-a-half after the administration missed a congressionally mandated deadline to impose the new sanctions, which led to questions over President Donald Trump’s willingness to punish Moscow for its cyber intrusion. The new measures, however delayed, amount to the most stringent punishment yet by Trump for Russia’s election interference.

In announcing the measures, the administration also disclosed a Russian attempt to penetrate the US energy grid, and said the new sanctions would punish actors for their participation in other major cyberattacks.

The new punishments include sanctions on the Internet Research Agency, a Russian troll farm that produced divisive political posts on American social media platforms during the 2016 presidential election. Yevgeniy Viktorovich Prigozhin, a financial backer to the Internet Research Agency with deep ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, is also included.

Known as “Putin’s chef,” Prigozhin was indicted by special counsel Robert Mueller earlier this year for his involvement with the Russian troll farm. Sanctions were also applied on 13 other individuals who were indicted by Mueller for their participation in the election meddling efforts.

“The administration is confronting and countering malign Russian cyber activity, including their attempted interference in US elections, destructive cyber-attacks, and intrusions targeting critical infrastructure,” said Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin in a statement.

In total, the administration applied new sanctions on five entities and 19 individuals on Thursday, including Russians who posed as Americans and posted content online as part of the IRA’s attempts to sow discord ahead of the presidential contest. They came as the US joined European allies in blaming Russia for a nerve agent attack in Britain, deeming the action a “clear violation” of international law.

“The recent use of a military-grade nerve agent in an attempt to murder two UK citizens further demonstrate the reckless and conduct of its government,” a senior US national security official said on Thursday.

The new sanctions would bar the individuals from traveling to the United States, and freeze whatever assets they may have in the country.

The sanctions were applied through executive power as well as through the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, which Congress initially passed this summer hoping to pressure Trump into punishing Russia for its election interference.

Trump signed the bill reluctantly in August, claiming it impinged upon his executive powers and could dampen his attempts to improve ties with Moscow.

The measure imposed an October deadline on the administration to produce lists of individuals and entities that could be subject to potential sanctions and a January deadline to impose them. The law required the administration to identify entities that conduct significant business with the Russian defense and intelligence sectors.

The administration missed both by several weeks, claiming necessary work was underway at the State and Treasury Departments to complete the lists.

The delay was seen as sign of Trump’s unwillingness to punish Russia for its meddling, which he has downplayed in the past. Members of Congress expressed frustration that their law, which passed almost unanimously, wasn’t being enacted.

On Thursday, administration officials insisted the new measures weren’t the end of their efforts to punish Russia.

“By no means will this constitute the end to our ongoing campaign to instruct Mr. Putin to change his behavior,” a senior administration official told reporters.</s>The Trump administration announced Thursday it is enacting new sanctions on Russia, including individuals indicted last month by special counsel Robert Mueller, in a sweeping new effort to punish Moscow for its attempts to interfere in the 2016 US election.

In enacting the sanctions, the administration is finally meeting a congressional mandate to impose measures punishing Moscow for its cyber intrusion. The delay had led to questions over President Donald Trump’s willingness to punish Moscow. The new measures, however delayed, amount to the most stringent punishment yet by Trump for Russia’s election interference.

In announcing the measures, the administration also disclosed a Russian attempt to penetrate the US energy grid, and said the new sanctions would punish actors for their participation in other major cyberattacks.

The new punishments include sanctions on the Internet Research Agency, a Russian troll farm that produced divisive political posts on American social media platforms during the 2016 presidential election. Yevgeniy Viktorovich Prigozhin, a financial backer to the Internet Research Agency with deep ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, is also included.

Known as “Putin’s chef,” Prigozhin was indicted by special counsel Robert Mueller earlier this year for his involvement with the Russian troll farm. Sanctions were also applied on 13 other individuals who were indicted by Mueller for their participation in the election meddling efforts.

In addition to those included in Mueller’s indictments, sanctions were slapped on two Russian intelligence agencies, the Federal Security Service and the Main Intelligence Directorate, as well as some of their employees.

The administration also accused Moscow of attempting to hack the US energy grid, a previously undisclosed claim that officials said was orchestrated by Russian intelligence.

“The administration is confronting and countering malign Russian cyber activity, including their attempted interference in US elections, destructive cyber-attacks, and intrusions targeting critical infrastructure,” said Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin in a statement.

In total, the administration applied new sanctions on five entities and 19 individuals on Thursday, including Russians who posed as Americans and posted content online as part of the IRA’s attempts to sow discord ahead of the presidential contest. They came as the US joined European allies in blaming Russia for a nerve agent attack in Britain, deeming the action a “clear violation” of international law.

During a meeting in the Oval Office on Thursday with the Irish Taoiseach, Trump told reporters that “it certainly looks like” the Russians were behind the nerve agent attack in the United Kingdom.

“It looks like it,” Trump said. “I spoke with the Prime Minister and we are in deep discussions. A very sad situation.”

“Something that should never ever happen, and we are taking it very seriously, as I think are many others,” Trump said.

The new sanctions would bar the individuals from traveling to the United States, and freeze whatever assets they may have in the country.

The sanctions were applied through executive power as well as through the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, which Congress initially passed this summer hoping to pressure Trump into punishing Russia for its election interference.

Trump signed the bill reluctantly in August, claiming it impinged upon his executive powers and could dampen his attempts to improve ties with Moscow.

The measure imposed an October deadline on the administration to produce lists of individuals and entities that could be subject to potential sanctions and a January deadline to impose them. The law required the administration to identify entities that conduct significant business with the Russian defense and intelligence sectors.

The administration missed both by several weeks, claiming necessary work was underway at the State and Treasury Departments to complete the lists.

The delay was seen as sign of Trump’s unwillingness to punish Russia for its meddling, which he has downplayed in the past. Members of Congress expressed frustration that their law, which passed almost unanimously, wasn’t being enacted.

The White House said on Thursday that Russia had a decision to make as it moves forward.

“They are going to have to decide whether or not they want to be a good actor or a bad actor,” press secretary Sarah Sanders said. “I think you can see from the actions we have taken up until this point we are going to be tough on Russia until they start to change their behavior.”

On Thursday, administration officials insisted the new measures weren’t the end of their efforts to punish Russia.

“By no means will this constitute the end to our ongoing campaign to instruct Mr. Putin to change his behavior,” a senior administration official told reporters.</s>Mueller’s office has subpoenaed the Trump Organization for business documents, including documents related to Russia, according to the New York Times. The reports mark the first publicly known time that Mueller has demanded documents related to President Trump’s businesses.

The subpoena is a sign that the Mueller investigation continues to pick up steam, even as Trump decries remaining questions about potential coordination between his associates and Russia and denies any wrongdoing. Trump has said he would view any investigation of his or his family’s personal finances that didn’t involve Russia as a “violation” by Mueller that crosses a red line.

CNN reported in January that the company had voluntarily provided documents on a range of events, conversations and meetings from Trump’s real estate business to Mueller and congressional investigators, according to three people familiar with the matter.

The subpoena’s intention was to “clean up” and to ensure that all related documents are handed over to the special counsel.

White House special counsel Ty Cobb had no comment. Alan Futerfas, an attorney for the Trump Organization, said in a statement that Thursday’s reports are “old news and our assistance and cooperation with the various investigations remains the same today.” White House press secretary Sarah Sanders declined to comment on the subpoena, reiterating the administration’s position that there was “no collusion” between the Trump campaign and Russia and referring further questions to the Trump Organization.

The Times, citing two people briefed on the matter, said the subpoena was delivered “in recent weeks.”

The Times said special counsel witnesses had been asked recently about a potential real estate deal in Moscow, and that investigators have questioned witnesses about the flow of money from the United Arab Emirates to the United States.

George Nader, a Middle East specialist tied to secret meetings between the UAE and Trump associates, is reportedly cooperating with Mueller.

The Times report said the subpoena is related to records prior to Trump’s run for office. In January, the Trump Organization provided documents largely from the period after Trump announced his run-up to his inauguration.

Lawyers for Trump said last May that over the past decade, Trump’s unreleased federal tax returns do not show any income from Russian sources “with a few exceptions.”

Mueller’s investigators have been asking witnesses about Trump’s business activities in Russia prior to his presidential run, including an unrealized attempt for a Trump Tower in Moscow. Last week, as he took to national airwaves for a series of interviews claiming he would defy a grand jury subpoena in the probe, former Trump aide Sam Nunberg said he suspected investigators wanted to know more about the 2013 Miss Universe pageant Trump hosted in Moscow.

News of the subpoena broke shortly after the Trump administration announced a new raft of sanctions on Russia, including Russian nationals previously indicted in the special counsel probe.

His former campaign chairman Paul Manafort faces more than 300 years in prison if he’s convicted of charges stemming from Mueller’s investigation that are unrelated to alleged Russian meddling in the election.

Meanwhile, Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee moved earlier this week to close their investigation, saying they found no “collusion” between the Trump campaign and Russia, as well as denying that Russian efforts to interfere in the election were done to bolster Trump, a central tenet of the US intelligence community’s conclusion about the meddling.</s>The Trump administration announced Thursday it is enacting new sanctions on Russia for its election meddling, a month-and-a-half after missing a congressionally mandated deadline.

The new punishments include sanctions on the Internet Research Agency, a Russian troll farm that produced divisive political posts on American social media platforms during the 2016 presidential election. Yevgeniy Viktorovich Prigozhin, a financial backer to the Internet Research Agency with deep ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, is also included.

Known as “Putin’s chef,” Prigozhin was indicted by special counsel Robert Mueller earlier this year for his involvement with the Russian troll farm.

In total, the administration applied new sanctions on five entities and 19 individuals on Thursday, including Russians who posed as Americans and posted content online as part of the IRA’s attempts to sow discord ahead of the presidential contest.

The sanctions were applied through executive power as well as through the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, which Congress initially passed this summer hoping to pressure Trump into punishing Russia for its election interference.

Trump signed the bill reluctantly in August, claiming it impinged upon his executive powers and could dampen his attempts to improve ties with Moscow.

The measure imposed an October deadline on the administration to produce lists of individuals and entities that could be subject to potential sanctions, and a January deadline to impose them. The law required the administration to identify entities that conduct significant business with the Russian defense and intelligence sectors.

The administration missed both by several weeks, claiming necessary work was underway at the State and Treasury Departments to complete the lists.

The delay was seen as sign of Trump’s unwillingness to punish Russia for its meddling, which he has downplayed in the past. Members of Congress expressed frustration that their law, which passed almost unanimously, wasn’t being enacted.

On Thursday, administration officials insisted the new measures weren’t the end of their efforts to punish Russia.

“By no means will this constitute the end to our ongoing campaign to instruct Mr. Putin to change his behavior,” a senior administration official told reporters.</s>Washington (AFP) - The special counsel investigating Moscow's influence on the US election has subpoenaed the company founded by Donald Trump to turn over documents related to Russia, a report said Thursday, bringing the probe closer to the president.

For the first time since launching his investigation, Robert Mueller had subpoenas delivered to the Trump Organization in recent weeks ordering it to hand over all documents related to Russia and other issues under investigation, The New York Times reported, citing two people briefed on the matter.

The Trump Organization, an umbrella company including global real estate, hotel, and golf course properties as well as licensing, sales and brand development operations, did not directly confirm the latest subpoenas, and downplayed the Times report as "old news."

"Since July 2017, we have advised the public that the Trump Organization is fully cooperative with all investigations, including the special counsel, and is responding to their requests," the company said in a statement.

Asked for comment on the development, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said: "We are going to continue to cooperate" with Mueller.

The revelation comes as Mueller, who is also examining Moscow's alleged collusion with the Trump campaign, has appeared to try to broaden his investigation to include the influence that foreign money may have played on Trump's political activities.

Mueller has begun probing efforts by Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner to get foreign investors beyond Russia to provide financing for his company during the presidential transition, CNN reported last month.

The special counsel has so far indicted 13 Russians for interfering in the 2016 US presidential race, and six other people including four former Trump aides or staffers.

Trump has warned Mueller against stepping beyond the original scope of his investigation and zeroing in on the Trump family's business transactions.

In an interview with the Times last July, the president said that the special counsel would be crossing a "red line" if he probed his family's finances beyond any relationship with Russia.

But he stopped short of saying whether he would seek to fire Mueller for taking such action.

Among the documents that might be targeted by Mueller are those related to proposals to build a Trump Tower skyscraper in Moscow in 2015.

Last year a spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin confirmed that the Kremlin had received an email in January 2016 from the Trump Organization's chief counsel at the time, Michael Cohen, asking for support for the project.

The email was never passed to Putin, the spokesman said, and the project never materialized.

On the campaign trail Trump repeatedly denied ties to Russia. In a July 2016 interview with CBS he said he had "nothing to do with Russia whatsoever."

The report of the subpoena came on the day the Trump administration announced it was slapping sanctions on Russia's top spy agencies and more than a dozen individuals for trying to sway the election.</s>The U.S. has announced new sanctions to be imposed on a series of Russian organizations and individuals related to meddling in the 2016 election.

The new punishments include sanctions on the Internet Research Agency, a Russian troll farm that produced divisive political posts on American social media platforms during the 2016 presidential election. Yevgeniy Viktorovich Prigozhin, a financial backer to the Internet Research Agency with deep ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, is also included.

Known as "Putin's chef," Prigozhin was indicted by special counsel Robert Mueller earlier this year for his involvement with the Russian troll farm.

In total, the administration applied new sanctions on five entities and 19 individuals on Thursday, including Russians who posed as Americans and posted content online as part of the IRA's attempts to sow discord ahead of the presidential contest.
The Trump administration imposes financial sanctions on 19 Russian nationals, including 12 of those indicted in the Special Counsel investigation.