Mueller seeks firing records

Counsel wants info on Trump’s dismissal of Comey, Flynn

Russia special counsel Robert Mueller sent the White House a flurry of document requests, requesting information relating to President Trump’s dismissals of FBI Director James Comey and national security adviser Michael Flynn, according to officials familiar with the matter.

The special counsel’s requests were first reported by The New York Times.

Mueller is investigating whether Trump obstructed justice in the FBI’s investigation into alleged Russian interference in last year’s election. A spokesman for Mueller’s team declined to comment Wednesday.

Trump has repeatedly denied any effort to obstruct the FBI investigation. He acknowledged in an interview with NBC News days after Comey’s dismissal that he wanted Comey to leave because of his handling of the Russia inquiry.

Trump fired Flynn in February after revelations that he lied to administration officials — including Vice President Pence — about his conversations with then-Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak before the inauguration.

Since then, Flynn’s financial connections to foreign governments have come under scrutiny by Mueller’s team and multiple congressional investigations into suspected Russian meddling and possible collusion with Trump associates.

Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort grappled with disclosures Wednesday about his offers to provide briefings on the campaign to Oleg Deriposka, a Russian billionaire and former Manafort business associate close to the Kremlin. The contacts occurred just before Trump’s formal nomination last summer.