Democrats’ goal in Trump probe: proving obstruction, collusion

US DEMOCRATS’ sweeping demands Monday for documents from 81 individuals, companies and organizations linked to President Donald Trump show they are pursuing several possibly impeachable offenses.

The massive document requests, the result of the Democrats gaining power in the House of Representatives in January, focus on four areas:

- Obstruction Democrats want to know whether Trump sought to illegally obstruct the Justice Department’s investigation into possible collusion with Russia.

Their requests hone in on a number of actions by the president that might support this conclusion: the dismissal of Trump’s national security aide Michael Flynn, the firing of FBI director James Comey, and Trump’s alleged pressure on attorney general Jeff Sessions and several senior Justice Department and FBI officials seen as not loyal or hostile.

They are also pinpointing alleged attempts to cover up a June 2016 campaign meeting in Trump Tower with a Russian lawyer, and to hide former negotiations for a Trump real estate project in Moscow during the 2016 campaign.

And they are pursuing documents and information that might show whether Trump illegally dangled pardons to former aides to discourage them from implicating him in any crimes. - Collusion The second focus of the requests is possible collusion with Russia, and a concern that Moscow might have leverage over the US leader.

Democrats want documents on whether Russians lent to or invested money in Trump companies, and whether the Trump Organization helped Russian real estate customers launder money.

They also want to know about any discussions that a dozen Trump aides or associates may have had with Russians on the Trump administration lifting US sanctions on Moscow.

The requests also target the Republican decision in July 2016 to moderate the official party stance against Russian interference in Ukraine, and seek information on Trump campaign contacts with WikiLeaks and any sharing of data, like polling data, between the campaign and Russia.

Democrats are also demanding documents on the content of Trump’s three meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin, which the White House has refused to divulge.

- Hush payments Democrats want more information on what Trump’s former lawyer described as “catch and kill” operations to silence people or news stories that could damage Trump’s image. That includes Trump’s years of cooperation with the National Tabloid Enquirer.

Trump’s ex-lawyer Michael Cohen has already implicated Trump in the illegal use of campaign funds to pay off one woman who had claimed an affair with the president.

- Profiting from office - Democrats want documents relating to the patronage of Trump businesses, like the Trump International Hotel in Washington, by US and foreign officials and dignitaries seeking to curry favor with the president.

If the Trump Organization has knowingly profited handsomely by this business, it could violate the US constitution’s “emoluments” rules which seek to prevent a president from making a business out of his White House tenure.

They also appear to be examining whether the Trump campaign received illegal donations or benefits from Qatar, United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia. Agence France-Presse