Trump wanted prosecutions

US President Donald Trump told his counsel’s office last northern spring that he wanted to prosecute political adversaries Hillary Clinton and former FBI Director James Comey.

The idea prompted White House lawyers to prepare a memo warning of consequences ranging up to possible impeachment, the

New York Times reported. Then-counsel Don McGahn told the President he had no authority to order such a prosecution, and he had White House lawyers prepare the memo. McGahn said that Trump could request such a probe but that even asking could lead to accusations of abuse of power, the newspaper said.

Presidents typically go out of their way to avoid any appearance of exerting influence over Justice Department investigations.

Trump has continued to privately discuss the matter of prosecuting his longtime adversaries, including talk of a new special counsel to investigate both Clinton and Comey.

Trump has provided the Special Counsel Robert Mueller with written answers to questions about his knowledge of Russian interference in the 2016 election, his lawyers said yesterday, avoiding at least for now a potentially risky sit-down with prosecutors. It’s the first time he has directly cooperated with the long investigation.

The step is a milestone in the negotiations between Trump’s lawyers and Mueller’s team over whether and when the President might sit for an interview.