Trump blasts leak of questions he could
face in Russia probe
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[May 02, 2018]
By Karen Freifeld and Sarah N. Lynch
NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S.
President Donald Trump on Tuesday criticized the leak of more than 40
questions that Special Counsel Robert Mueller wants to ask him as part
of a probe into Russia's alleged election meddling and possible
collusion by the Trump campaign.
As negotiations continue over whether Trump will sit for an interview,
the New York Times obtained a lengthy list of questions Mueller and his
team have prepared for the president.
"So disgraceful that the questions concerning the Russian Witch Hunt
were 'leaked' to the media. No questions on Collusion," Trump wrote on
Twitter. "It would seem very hard to obstruct justice for a crime that
never happened!"
Mueller's investigators read the questions to Trump's lawyers who
compiled them into a list, the New York Times reported on Monday. The
newspaper said it obtained the document from a person outside Trump's
legal team.
Trump's lawyers met with Mueller last week to discuss a possible
interview with the president, according to the Wall Street Journal,
which also reported on the potential queries.
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Representatives for the Mueller's office declined to comment and Jay
Sekulow, a lawyer for Trump, also had no comment. Reuters could not
confirm the published accounts.
The list of at least four dozen questions includes ones on Trump's ties
to Russia and others to determine whether the president may have
unlawfully tried to obstruct the investigation, the Times reported.
Savannah Law School professor Andrew Wright, who served in President
Barack Obama's White House, said it was difficult to know who would have
leaked the questions and why.
"It's hard for me to imagine it's coming from Mueller's team. And it's
kind of a ham-handed effort if it's someone who's trying to help the
president," he said.
Russia has denied interfering in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, as
U.S. intelligence agencies allege, and Trump has denied there was any
collusion between his campaign and Moscow.
Most of the questions relate to possible obstruction of justice, the
reports said.
While the questions do not explicitly cite "collusion," they do address
what the president knew about hacking by Russia, its use of social media
and "other acts aimed at the campaign," the Times said.
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President Donald Trump waves goodbye after presenting the
Commander-in-Chief's Trophy to the U.S. Military Academy football
team in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, U.S., May
1, 2018. REUTERS/Leah Millis
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MANAFORT TARGETS POSSIBLE LEAKS
"What knowledge did you have of any outreach by your campaign,
including by Paul Manafort, to Russia about potential assistance to
the campaign?," one question asked, referring to Trump's former
campaign manager, according to the Times.
Manafort faces charges in two federal courts that include conspiracy
to launder money, failure to register as a foreign agent when he
lobbied for the pro-Russia Ukraine government, bank fraud and tax
fraud.
Late on Monday, Manafort's lawyers asked a federal judge in Virginia
to hear arguments later this month on whether prosecutors in
Mueller's office may have leaked classified and other secret
materials about the case to the media.
On Friday, Manafort's lawyers will ask the judge to dismiss the
indictment in that court on the grounds that the scope of Mueller's
probe is excessive.
Mueller's list also included inquiries about Trump's firing of
former FBI Director James Comey, who headed the Russia investigation
before he was dismissed in May 2017, and the resignation of former
national security adviser Michael Flynn, the Times reported.
Flynn has pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI during his interview as
part of Mueller's probe.
(Additional reporting by Makini Brice and Brendan O'Brien; editing
by Susan Heavey and Cynthia Osterman)
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