Questions for Trump from Mueller revealed

WASHINGTON — Robert Mueller, the special counsel investigating Russia’s election interference, has at least four dozen questions on an array of subjects he wants to ask President Donald Trump to learn more about his ties to Russia and determine whether he obstructed the inquiry itself, according to a list of the questions obtained by The New York Times.

The open-ended queries appear to be an attempt to penetrate the president’s thinking, to get at the motivation behind some of his Twitter posts and to examine his relationships with his family and his closest advisers. They deal chiefly with the president’s high-profile firings of the FBI director and his first national security adviser, his treatment of Attorney General Jeff Sessions, and a 2016 Trump Tower meeting between campaign officials and Russians offering dirt on Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

But they also touch on the president’s businesses; any discussions with his longtime personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, about a Moscow real estate deal; whether the president knew of any attempt by Jared Kushner, his son- in- law, to set up a back channel to Russia during the transition; any contacts he had with Roger Stone, a longtime adviser who claimed to have inside information about hacking

attacks on the Democratic National Committee and Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta; and what happened during Trump’s 2013 trip to Moscow for the Miss Universe pageant.

The questions provide the most detailed look yet inside Mueller’s investigation, which has been shrouded in secrecy since he was appointed nearly a year ago. The majority relate to possible obstruction of justice, demonstrating how an investigation into Russia’s election meddling grew to include an examination of the president’s conduct in office. Among them are queries on any discussions Trump had about his attempts to fire Mueller himself and what the president knew about possible pardon offers to former national security adviser Michael Flynn.

“What efforts were made to reach out to Mr. Flynn about seeking immunity or possible pardon?” Mueller planned to ask, according to questions read by the special counsel investigators to the president’s lawyers, who compiled them into a list. That document was provided to the Times by a person outside Trump’s legal team.

‘WHAT DID YOU THINK?’

A few questions reveal that Mueller is still investigating possible coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia. In one of the more tantalizing inquiries, Mueller asks what Trump knew about campaign aides, including former chairman Paul Manafort, seeking assistance from Moscow: “What knowledge did you have of any outreach by your campaign, including by Paul Manafort, to Russia about potential assistance to the campaign?” No such outreach has been revealed publicly.

Jay Sekulow, a lawyer for Trump, declined to comment. A spokesman for the special counsel’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

The questions serve as a reminder of the fast-paced first 15 months of the Trump presidency and the transition and campaign before that. Mueller wanted to inquire about public threats the president made, conflicting statements from Trump and White House aides, the president’s private admissions to Russian officials, a secret meeting at an island resort, WikiLeaks, salacious accusations, and congressional testimony.

The special counsel also sought information from the president about his relationship with Russia. Mueller would like to ask Trump whether he had any discussions during the campaign about any meetings with President Vladimir Putin of Russia and whether he spoke to others about either American sanctions against Russia or meeting with Putin.

Through his questions, Mueller also tries to tease out Trump’s views on law enforcement officials and whether he sees them as independent investigators or people who should loyally protect him.

For example, when FBI Director James Comey was fired, White House officials said he broke with Justice Department policy and spoke publicly about the investigation into Clinton’s email server. Mueller’s questions put that statement to the test. He wants to ask why, time and again, Trump expressed no concerns with whether Comey had abided by policy. Rather, in statements in private and on national television, Trump suggested that Comey was fired because of the Russia investigation.

Many of the questions surround Trump’s relationship with Sessions, including the attorney general’s decision to recuse himself from the Russia investigation and whether Trump told Sessions he needed him in place for protection.

The questions also suggest Mueller is investigating how Trump took steps last year to fire Mueller. The president relented after the White House counsel, Don McGahn, threatened to resign, an episode that the special counsel wants to ask about.

“What consideration and discussions did you have regarding terminating the special counsel in June of 2017?” Mueller planned to ask, according to the list of questions. “What did you think and do in reaction to Jan. 25, 2018, story about the termination of the special counsel and Don McGahn backing you off the termination?” he planned to ask, referring to the Times article that broke the news of the confrontation.

Mueller has sought for months to question the president, who has in turn expressed a desire, at times, to be interviewed, viewing it as an avenue to end the inquiry more quickly. His lawyers have been negotiating terms of an interview out of concern that their client could provide false statements or easily become distracted. Four people, including Flynn, have pleaded guilty to lying to investigators in the Russia inquiry.

Mueller’s endgame remains a mystery, even if he determines the president broke the law. A long-standing Justice Department legal finding says presidents cannot be charged with a crime while they are in office. The special counsel told Dowd in March that although the president’s conduct is under scrutiny, he is not a target of the investigation, meaning Mueller does not expect to charge him.

DEPUTY AG TARGETED

In Congress, conservative House allies of Trump have drafted articles of impeachment against Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who oversees the ongoing special counsel probe, setting up a possible GOP showdown over Mueller’s investigation.

The document, which was obtained by The Washington Post, underscores the growing chasm between congressional Republican leaders, who have maintained for months that Mueller should be allowed to proceed, and rank-and-file GOP lawmakers who have repeatedly battled the Justice Department during the past year.

Members of the House Freedom Caucus — led by Rep. Mark Meadow, R-N.C., a Trump confidant — finalized the draft in recent days. It came after weeks of disputes with Rosenstein over the Justice Department’s response to congressional requests for documents about the decisions and behavior of federal law-enforcement officials working on the Russia investigation and other federal probes, including the investigation into Clinton’s email server.

Meadows acknowledged the draft in an interview Monday, calling the onepage document “a last resort option, if the Department of Justice fails to respond” to his requests for more information.

“My frustrations about their inability to respond to simple requests could warrant further action,” Meadows said, adding that many of his colleagues are nearing a breaking point with Rosenstein.

The group’s impeachment draft would face many challenges if it were referred to the House Judiciary Committee for consideration. Republican leaders have kept their distance from calls to remove Rosenstein from office, and Democrats have argued that the GOP’s clashes with the deputy attorney general are little more than a pretext to weaken Mueller’s efforts.

Impeaching a federal official is an exceedingly difficult endeavor. While House members can refer impeachment articles to the House Judiciary Committee, it is usually up to the committee to debate or draft impeachment legislation that could be brought before the House for a vote. A simple majority is then needed for an article of impeachment to pass and be sent to the U.S. Senate for a trial. Two-thirds of the Senate is necessary to convict and remove the accused from office. Information for this article was contributed by Michael S. Schmidt of The New York Times; and by Robert Costa, Sari Horwitz and Matt Zapotosky of The Washington Post.