US special counsel Robert Mueller has charged at least one person in the sprawling probe over Russian interference in last year's presidential vote, marking the start of a new judicial phase.

Details of the first charges as well as the target remain unclear at this stage, but CNN confirmed with several sources briefed on the matter that a federal grand jury on Friday had approved them - and arrests could take place as early as Monday. At least one person is in the legal crosshairs, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Reached by AFP, both Mueller's office and the US Department of Justice have declined to comment.

Mueller, a former FBI director, was tapped in May to head the Russia probe shortly after Trump's shock sacking of then-FBI director James Comey.

Until then the FBI had been conducting a probe it launched in July 2016. After Comey's dismissal the Justice Department's second-in-command Rod Rosenstein appointed Mueller to take the reins as special counsel - a role more independent than a normal prosecutor but still under supervision of the department.

Source: Khaleej Times