List reveals questions Mueller wants to ask Trump: report
Special counsel Robert Mueller has reportedly assembled a list of close to 50 questions he wants to ask President Trump as part of his investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.
The New York Times reported Monday that it obtained a list of the questions, which include inquiries related to Trump’s business dealings, his relationship with Russia and his communications with ex-staffers who have since been caught up in the probe.
{mosads}The questions provide a window into what Mueller is interested in learning from Trump as the special counsel’s probe nears the one-year mark.
A handful of the questions focus on communications between Trump or his campaign staffers and Russia.
Mueller prepared to ask Trump about the well-known meeting at Trump Tower that involved Donald Trump Jr. and a Russian lawyer, as well as whether the president himself discussed sanctions on Russia or meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin during the campaign, the Times reported.
In addition, Mueller reportedly planned to ask, “What knowledge did you have of any outreach by your campaign, including by Paul Manafort, to Russia about potential assistance to the campaign?”
Manafort, Trump’s former campaign chairman who is set to go on trial in the Mueller probe in the coming months, has not yet been linked publicly to any campaign outreach to Russia.
Another question focuses on what Trump knew, if anything, about Russian hacking during the presidential race. Trump during the 2016 campaign praised WikiLeaks for disseminating hacked emails from Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton’s campaign and called on Russia to find her deleted emails from her time as secretary of State.
Several of Mueller’s reported questions also focus on Trump’s decisions to fire former national security adviser Michael Flynn and former FBI Director James Comey.
In both cases, Mueller appeared poised to ask when and why Trump decided to fire Comey and Flynn and who was involved in each decision.
Trump’s explanation for why he fired each individual has appeared to change at times, stoking speculation that the president may have obstructed justice.
Mueller also planned to inquire about Trump’s reported efforts to fire the special counsel.
“What discussions did you have regarding terminating the special counsel, and what did you do when that consideration was reported in January 2018?” the question states, according to The Times.
Trump reportedly sought to fire Mueller on two occasions, but was talked out of it in both instances.
The special counsel also showed interest in a variety of other associates and administration officials, including Attorney General Jeff Sessions; Michael Cohen, Trump’s personal attorney; Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and a senior adviser; and former White House chief of staff Reince Priebus, among others, according to the Times report.
Trump has repeatedly denied he or his campaign colluded with Russia in the 2016 election. He has often called Mueller’s investigation a “witch hunt” and a “hoax.”
The president has said on multiple occasions he’d be willing to speak with Mueller as part of the probe. However, he has reportedly cooled on the idea after FBI agents raided Cohen’s home and office.
Former New York City Mayer Rudy Giuliani (R), whom Trump recently hired for his legal team, reportedly met with Mueller last week to discuss details of a possible interview with the president.
Giuliani, who served as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York in the 1980s, told The Washington Post that he joined Trump’s legal team “because I hope we can negotiate an end to this for the good of the country and because I have high regard for the president and for Bob Mueller.”
Mueller’s investigation has thus far led to guilty pleas or indictments against four former Trump associates, including Flynn and Manafort.
The special counsel also fired charges against 13 Russian nationals for their alleged attempts to interfere in the 2016 election.
Updated at 9:50 p.m.