WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is angrily protesting a leaked list of questions the Justice Department’s special counsel wants to ask him, while at the same time contending the list shows anew there was no crime or collusion with the Russians by his presidential campaign. But the questions suggest otherwise: The areas investigators want to focus on clearly include collusion and obstruction of justice.
The questions, some 49 in all, were published by The New York Times, which said they were compiled by Trump’s lawyers during negotiations with special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigators over a possible interview with the president himself. The Times said it got the list from someone “outside Mr. Trump’s legal team.”
The leak was “so disgraceful,” Trump tweeted on Tuesday. “No questions on Collusion,” he said, “collusion that never existed.” That’s the idea that his presidential campaign collaborated with Russians who were trying to help him to the Oval Office. As for obstruction of the investigation after he took office, he scoffed, “It would be very hard to obstruct justice for a crime that never happened!”
There’s still no word from the White House as to whether Trump will sit down to answer these questions or others for the investigation.
Some takeaways from the list.
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OBSTRUCTION IS A KEY FOCUS
It has long been clear that Mueller is interested in whether Trump may have obstructed justice. The questions published by the Times show just how much of a focus it is.
Although Mueller’s team has indicated to Trump’s lawyers that he’s not considered a “target” of the probe, investigators want to interview him about several episodes early in his term.
The bulk of those questions focus on the firing of FBI Director James Comey, Trump’s relationship with Attorney General Jeff Sessions, whom he has angrily criticized for recusing himself from the Russia probe, and his former national security adviser, Michael Flynn. According to Comey, Trump encouraged Comey to drop an investigation into Flynn.
The questions attempt to drill down into Trump’s conflicting public answers for his reasons for firing Comey — in one interview he referenced “this Russia thing” — and ask him about the decision more directly.
“Regarding the decision to fire Mr. Comey: When was it made? Why? Who played a role?” reads one question.
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COLLUSION IS STILL A FOCUS, TOO
Despite Trump’s dismissal of the idea, the list does appear to indicate that Mueller is looking into possible collusion or coordination with Russia. Some touch on Russian meddling in the U.S. election and whether the Trump campaign coordinated in any way with the Kremlin. In one question, Mueller asks what Trump knew about members of his campaign staff, including former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, reaching out to Moscow.
Mueller has brought several charges against Manafort already, including money laundering and bank fraud. None of the charges relates to allegations of Russian election interference and possible coordination with Trump associates, and Manafort has denied having anything to do with any such effort.
Another question asks what discussions Trump may have had regarding “any meeting” with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Still another asks what the president may have known about a possible attempt by his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, to set up a back channel with Russia before the U.S. inauguration.
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MUELLER IS WATCHING TRUMP’S TWEETS
At least two questions directly address tweets from the president.
One asks: “What was the purpose of your May 12, 2017, tweet?” That references a tweet Trump posted after reports that Comey described a private dinner with the president in personal memos. Comey wrote in a memo that Trump repeatedly asked him for loyalty.
“James Comey better hope that there are no ‘tapes’ of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press!” Trump tweeted.
Another question asks about tweets in which Trump suggested Comey should be investigated for the way he handled an investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails.
The questions also reference television interviews that Trump has given.
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Will TRUMP ACTUALLY FACE THESE QUESTIONS?
It’s still unclear whether Mueller’s investigators will be able to ask Trump any questions — or whether these are the ones they would ask. Trump has said he wants to answer Mueller’s questions. But more recently, he and his team of lawyers, which has undergone changes in recent months, have not said when — or if.
It’s also not clear whether the leak of the questions was meant to somehow influence whether he will do the interview.
Asked about the questions on Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders repeatedly referred reporters to Trump’s lawyers. Trump lawyer Jay Sekulow declined to comment to The Associated Press. So did White House lawyer Ty Cobb.
Comey, in an interview, gave an opinion that steered clear of politics and sounded like the law enforcement official he used to be: “Just as we’ve done in many investigations, you want to develop a complete understanding of the facts and then check them with the subject and see what they say about it.”
