New York Times obtains list of questions Mueller reportedly wants to ask Trump
A long list that includes queries about Trump’s 2013 trip to Moscow, the Trump Tower meeting in June 2016, and the firing of James Comey.
By Jen Kirbyjen.kirby@vox.com
Apr 30, 2018, 10:02pm EDT
“When did you become aware of the Trump Tower meeting?”
“During a 2013 trip to Russia, what communication and relationships did you have with the Agalarovs and Russian government officials?”
“What was the purpose of your Jan. 27, 2017, dinner with Mr. Comey, and what was said?”
This is just a sampling of questions special counsel Robert Mueller reportedly wants to ask President Donald Trump. The New York Times’s Michael S. Schmidt obtained the exhaustive list of inquiries that investigators are said to want to ask the president should he agree to do a sit-down interview with the special counsel’s office.
The list provides a broad overview of the lines of investigation Mueller is pursuing and how they intersect with the commander-in-chief himself. The questions cover potential ties between Trump campaign associates and the Russian government, and possible attempts to obstruct justice by the president.
Most of the questions involve subjects that have been reported on publicly, and function as a sort of recap of Trump administration controversies — and the president’s most explosive tweets and statements.
They include queries related to Michael Flynn, from Trump’s knowledge of his contacts with the Russian ambassador to whether Trump had extended a possible offer to pardon his former national security adviser, who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI. Other questions delve into Trump’s motivations behind the firing of FBI Director James Comey; the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting and the administration’s initial statements about it; and Trump’s contacts with Roger Stone.
According to the Times, Robert Mueller’s team presented the list of questions to Trump’s legal team as part of the negotiations to get Trump to sit down with investigators. The president’s lawyers transcribed the question, which the Times got ahold of from a person outside Trump’s legal team.
Mueller has reportedly been pushing to interview the president directly, something his lawyers fretted over given the president’s penchant for exaggeration and lying. Trump’s top personal lawyer, John Dowd, resigned in March, following reports that Trump wasn’t willing to listen to his legal advice, including about sitting for a Mueller interview. Rudy Giuliani, the former prosecutor, New York City mayor, and Trump confidante brought onto the president’s legal team in April, is reportedly now trying to decide whether a Mueller interview will go forward.
For the full list of Mueller questions, read the Times’s exclusive here.
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Link: https://www.vox.com/2018/4/30/17305458/trump-mueller-questions-new-york-times
What Mueller Wants to Ask Trump About Obstruction, and What It Means
The questions show the special counsel’s focus on obstruction of justice and touch on some surprising other areas.
The special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, recently provided President Trump’s lawyers a list of questions he wants answered
in an interview. The New York Times obtained the list; here are the
questions, along with the context and significance of each. The
questions fall into categories based on four broad subjects. They are
not quoted verbatim, and some were condensed.
Questions related to Michael T. Flynn, the former national security adviser
• What did you know about phone calls that Mr. Flynn made with the Russian ambassador, Sergey I. Kislyak, in late December 2016?
These
questions revolve around whether Mr. Trump tried to obstruct justice to
protect Mr. Flynn from prosecution. His phone calls with Mr. Kislyak
are at the heart of that inquiry.
During
the calls, Mr. Flynn urged Russia not to overreact to sanctions just
announced by the Obama administration. But Mr. Trump’s aides publicly
denied that sanctions were discussed and, when questioned by the F.B.I.,
Mr. Flynn denied it, as well. Mr. Mueller wants to know whether Mr.
Flynn was operating on Mr. Trump’s behalf. Prosecutors may already know
the answer: Mr. Flynn has pleaded guilty to lying and is cooperating
with investigators.
• What was your reaction to news reports on Jan. 12, 2017, and Feb. 8-9, 2017?
In January, the Washington Post columnist David Ignatius revealed Mr. Flynn’s phone calls
with Mr. Kislyak. Mr. Ignatius questioned whether those conversations
had violated a law prohibiting private citizens from attempting to
undermine American policies. In February, The Washington Post revealed the true nature of Mr. Flynn’s conversations with Mr. Kislyak.
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Mr.
Mueller wants to know, among other things, whether Mr. Trump feared
that his national security adviser had broken the law and then tried to
shield him from consequences.
• What did you know about Sally Yates’s meetings about Mr. Flynn?
Ms.
Yates, the acting attorney general for the first weeks of the Trump
administration, twice warned the White House that Mr. Flynn was lying,
and those lies made him vulnerable to Russian blackmail. No one from the
White House has ever said how much Mr. Trump knew about those warnings.
• How was the decision made to fire Mr. Flynn on Feb. 13, 2017?
Eighteen
days after Ms. Yates’s warning, Mr. Flynn was asked to resign. The
White House said that Mr. Trump lost confidence in Mr. Flynn because he
had lied. But the White House has never fully explained why, after
learning about the lie, officials waited so long to act.
• After the resignations, what efforts were made to reach out to Mr. Flynn about seeking immunity or possible pardon?
The Times recently revealed
that, when Mr. Flynn began considering cooperating with the F.B.I., Mr.
Trump’s lawyers floated the idea of a pardon. Mr. Mueller wants to know
why.
Questions related to James B. Comey, the former F.B.I. director
Image
• What was your opinion of Mr. Comey during the transition?
The
questions about Mr. Comey relate to whether Mr. Trump fired Mr. Comey
last year to shield Mr. Flynn, or anyone else, from prosecution. Mr.
Trump has denied that, saying he fired Mr. Comey because of his
mishandling of the F.B.I.’s investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a
private email server.
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This
question is important because, if Mr. Trump truly was upset about the
Clinton investigation, he would have shown an early distaste for Mr.
Comey.
• What did you think about Mr. Comey’s intelligence briefing on Jan. 6, 2017, about Russian election interference?
The
briefing revealed that American intelligence agencies had concluded
that Russian operatives meddled in the election to hurt Mrs. Clinton and
to boost Mr. Trump. Mr. Trump has repeatedly cast doubt on these
conclusions and said he believes the Russian president, Vladimir V.
Putin, who denies any interference.
• What was your reaction to Mr. Comey’s briefing that day about other intelligence matters?
This
question addresses documents written by a retired British spy,
Christopher Steele, who said that Russia had gathered compromising
information on Mr. Trump. The documents, which became known as the
Steele Dossier, also claim that the Trump campaign had ties to the
Russian government. Mr. Comey privately briefed Mr. Trump about these
documents.
• What was the purpose of your Jan. 27, 2017, dinner with Mr. Comey, and what was said?
A
few weeks after his briefing, Mr. Comey was called to the White House
for a private dinner. Mr. Comey’s notes say that Mr. Trump raised
concerns about the Steele Dossier and said he needed loyalty from his
F.B.I. director. This question touches on Mr. Trump’s true motivation
for firing Mr. Comey: Was he dismissed because he was not loyal and
would not shut down an F.B.I. investigation?
• What was the purpose of your Feb. 14, 2017, meeting with Mr. Comey, and what was said?
That
was a key moment. Mr. Comey testified that the president told him, “I
hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn
go.” Mr. Trump has denied this.
• What did you know about the F.B.I.’s investigation into Mr. Flynn and Russia in the days leading up to Mr. Comey’s testimony on March 20, 2017?
Mr. Comey’s testimony publicly confirmed
that the F.B.I. was investigating members of the Trump campaign for
possible coordination with Russia. Mr. Mueller wants to know what role
that revelation played in Mr. Comey’s firing.
• What did you do in reaction to the March 20 testimony? Describe your contacts with intelligence officials.
In the aftermath, The Post reported,
Mr. Trump asked the United States’ top intelligence official, Daniel
Coats, to pressure Mr. Comey to back off his investigation. Mr. Mueller
wants to ask Mr. Trump about his contacts with Mr. Coats as well as the
C.I.A.’s director at the time, Mike Pompeo, and the National Security
Agency’s director, Michael S. Rogers. The conversations could reflect
Mr. Trump’s growing frustration with Mr. Comey — not about the Clinton
case, but about his refusal to shut down the Russia inquiry.
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• What did you think and do in reaction to the news that the special counsel was speaking to Mr. Rogers, Mr. Pompeo and Mr. Coats?
It
is not clear whether Mr. Mueller knows something specific about Mr.
Trump’s reaction to these interviews, but the question shows that Mr.
Mueller is keenly interested in how Mr. Trump responded to each step of
his investigation.
• What was the purpose of your calls to Mr. Comey on March 30 and April 11, 2017?
Mr. Comey said that Mr. Trump called twice
to ask him to say publicly that he was not under F.B.I. investigation.
In the second call, Mr. Comey said, the president added: “I have been
very loyal to you, very loyal. We had that thing, you know.”
• What was the purpose of your April 11, 2017, statement to Maria Bartiromo?
While
the White House ultimately said Mr. Comey was fired for breaking with
Justice Department policy and discussing the Clinton investigation, Mr.
Trump expressed no such qualms in an interview with Ms. Bartiromo of Fox
Business Network. “Director Comey was very, very good to Hillary
Clinton, that I can tell you,” he said. “If he weren’t, she would be,
right now, going to trial.”
• What did you think and do about Mr. Comey’s May 3, 2017, testimony?
In this Senate appearance,
Mr. Comey described his handling of the Clinton investigation in
detail. Mr. Comey was fired soon after. Mr. Mueller’s question suggests
he wants to know why Mr. Trump soured.
• Regarding the decision to fire Mr. Comey: When was it made? Why? Who played a role?
Over
the past several months, Mr. Mueller has asked White House officials
for the back story, and whether the public justification was accurate.
He will be able to compare Mr. Trump’s answers to what he has learned
elsewhere.
• What did you mean when you told Russian diplomats on May 10, 2017, that firing Mr. Comey had taken the pressure off?
The day after Mr. Comey’s firing, Mr. Trump met with Russian officials in the Oval Office. There, The Times revealed, Mr. Trump suggested he had fired Mr. Comey because of the pressure from the Russia investigation.
“I
just fired the head of the F.B.I. He was crazy, a real nut job,” Mr.
Trump said. “I faced great pressure because of Russia. That’s taken
off.”
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• What did you mean in your interview with Lester Holt about Mr. Comey and Russia?
Shortly
after firing Mr. Comey, Mr. Trump undercut his own argument when he
told NBC News that he had been thinking about the Russia investigation
when he fired Mr. Comey.
“I was going to fire Comey knowing there was no good time to do it. And in fact, when I decided to just do it, I said to myself — I said, you know, this Russia thing with Trump and Russia is a made-up story. It's an excuse by the Democrats for having lost an election that they should've won.”
• What was the purpose of your May 12, 2017, tweet?
After The Times revealed the president’s private dinner with Mr. Comey, Mr. Trump responded on Twitter.
Mr.
Comey appeared unworried. “Lordy, I hope there are tapes,” Mr. Comey
said. The White House ultimately said that, no, there were no tapes.
• What did you think about Mr. Comey’s June 8, 2017, testimony regarding Mr. Flynn, and what did you do about it?
After
he was fired, Mr. Comey testified about his conversations with Mr.
Trump and described him as preoccupied with the F.B.I.’s investigation
into Russia. After the testimony, Mr. Trump called him a liar.
• What was the purpose of the September and October 2017 statements, including tweets, regarding an investigation of Mr. Comey?
Sarah
Huckabee Sanders, the White House press secretary, said that Mr. Comey
had testified falsely to Congress and suggested that the Justice
Department might investigate. Mr. Trump followed up with tweets
suggesting that he should be investigated for rigging an inquiry into
Mrs. Clinton. Such comments reinforced criticism that Mr. Trump views
the Justice Department as a sword to use against his political rivals.
• What is the reason for your continued criticism of Mr. Comey and his former deputy, Andrew G. McCabe?
Mr.
Comey and Mr. McCabe are among Mr. Trump’s favorite targets. Mr. McCabe
is a lifelong Republican, but Mr. Trump has criticized him as a Clinton
loyalist because Mr. McCabe’s wife, a Democrat, ran unsuccessfully for
office in Virginia and received donations from a Clinton ally. This
question suggests that Mr. Mueller wants to know whether Mr. Trump’s
criticism is an effort to damage the F.B.I. while it investigates the
president’s associates.
Questions related to Attorney General Jeff Sessions
Image
• What did you think and do regarding the recusal of Mr. Sessions?
Mr. Trump has criticized Mr. Sessions’s recusal from the Russia investigation. The Times reported that Mr. Trump humiliated him
in an Oval Office meeting and accused him of being disloyal. Mr.
Sessions ultimately submitted his resignation, though Mr. Trump did not
accept it. Along with the next two questions, this inquiry looks at
whether Mr. Trump views law enforcement officials as protectors.
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• What efforts did you make to try to get him to change his mind?
The Times has reported
that Mr. Trump told his White House counsel, Donald F. McGahn II, to
stop Mr. Sessions from recusing himself. Mr. McGahn was unsuccessful,
and Mr. Trump erupted, saying he needed an attorney general who would
protect him.
• Did you discuss whether Mr. Sessions would protect you, and reference past attorneys general?
Mr.
Trump has spoken affectionately about past attorneys general who he
said were loyal to their presidents. He cited Robert F. Kennedy and Eric
H. Holder Jr. as examples. “Holder protected the president,” he said in a Times interview in December. “And I have great respect for that.”
• What did you think and what did you do in reaction to the news of the appointment of the special counsel?
In
a twist, Mr. Mueller’s very appointment has become part of his
investigation. Mr. Trump has repeatedly denounced the inquiry as a
“witch hunt.” Mr. Trump blames the appointment on Mr. Sessions’s
recusal.
• Why did you hold Mr. Sessions’s resignation until May 31, 2017, and with whom did you discuss it?
Mr.
Trump rejected Mr. Sessions’s resignation after aides argued that it
would only create more problems. The details of those discussions remain
unclear, but Mr. Trump’s advisers have already given Mr. Mueller their
accounts of the conversations.
• What discussions did you have with Reince Priebus in July 2017 about obtaining the Sessions resignation? With whom did you discuss it?
Mr. Priebus, who was Mr. Trump’s chief of staff, has said he raced out of the White House
after Mr. Sessions and implored him not to resign. Mr. Mueller has
interviewed Mr. Priebus and would be able to compare his answers with
those of Mr. Trump.
• What discussions did you have regarding terminating the special counsel, and what did you do when that consideration was reported in January 2018?
Again, Mr. Mueller’s investigation intersects with its own existence. The Times reported
that, in June 2017, Mr. Trump ordered Mr. McGahn to fire Mr. Mueller.
Mr. McGahn refused. Though Mr. Trump’s own advisers informed Mr. Mueller
about that effort, Mr. Trump denied it: “Fake news,” he said. “A
typical New York Times fake story.”
• What was the purpose of your July 2017 criticism of Mr. Sessions?
Mr. Trump unleashed a series of attacks on Mr. Sessions in July.
Campaign Coordination With Russia
Image
• When did you become aware of the Trump Tower meeting?
This
and other questions relate to a June 9, 2016, meeting at Trump Tower
with a Russian lawyer who offered political dirt about Mrs. Clinton. Mr.
Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., arranged the meeting. He said he
did not tell his father about it when it happened.
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• What involvement did you have in the communication strategy, including the release of Donald Trump Jr.’s emails?
When
The Times found out about the meeting, Mr. Trump helped draft a
misleading statement in his son’s name, omitting the true purpose of the
meeting. After The Times obtained the younger Mr. Trump’s emails, he
published them on Twitter.
• During a 2013 trip to Russia, what communication and relationships did you have with the Agalarovs and Russian government officials?
The
Trump Tower meeting was arranged through the Russian singer Emin
Agalarov, his billionaire father, Aras Agalarov, and a music promoter.
Mr. Mueller is scrutinizing the nature of connections between the
Agalarovs, Mr. Trump and Russian officials.
• What communication did you have with Michael D. Cohen, Felix Sater and others, including foreign nationals, about Russian real estate developments during the campaign?
Mr.
Mueller is referring to a failed effort to build a Trump Tower in
Moscow. Mr. Sater, a business associate, proposed the idea to Mr. Cohen,
the longtime personal lawyer to Mr. Trump. Emails show that Mr. Sater
believed that the project would showcase Mr. Trump’s deal-making acumen
and propel him into the presidency.
• What discussions did you have during the campaign regarding any meeting with Mr. Putin? Did you discuss it with others?
Journalists
and lawmakers have uncovered several examples of Russian officials
trying, through intermediaries, to arrange a meeting between Mr. Trump
and Mr. Putin. Senior campaign officials rejected some overtures, but
Mr. Trump’s involvement has been a mystery.
• What discussions did you have during the campaign regarding Russian sanctions?
Even as the Obama administration stepped up sanctions on Russia, Mr. Trump struck a laudatory tone toward Mr. Putin.
• What involvement did you have concerning platform changes regarding arming Ukraine?
A portion of the Republican platform was changed in a way more favorable to Russia.
• During the campaign, what did you know about Russian hacking, use of social media or other acts aimed at the campaign?
This
is a key question. Mr. Trump praised the release of hacked Democratic
emails and called on Russia to find others. Mr. Mueller’s investigation
has unearthed evidence that at least one member of Mr. Trump’s campaign —
George Papadopoulos — was told that Russia had obtained compromising
emails about Mrs. Clinton. But Mr. Trump has repeatedly said there was
“no collusion” with the Russian government.
• What knowledge did you have of any outreach by your campaign, including by Paul Manafort, to Russia about potential assistance to the campaign?
This
is one of the most intriguing questions on the list. It is not clear
whether Mr. Mueller knows something new, but there is no publicly
available information linking Mr. Manafort, the former campaign
chairman, to such outreach. So his inclusion here is significant. Mr.
Manafort’s longtime colleague, Rick Gates, is cooperating with Mr.
Mueller.
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• What did you know about communication between Roger Stone, his associates, Julian Assange or WikiLeaks?
Mr.
Stone, a longtime adviser, claimed to have inside information from
WikiLeaks, which published hacked Democratic emails. He appeared to
predict future releases, and was in touch with a Twitter account used by
Russian intelligence. This question, along with the next two, show that
Mr. Mueller is still investigating possible campaign cooperation with
Russia.
• What did you know during the transition about an attempt to establish back-channel communication to Russia, and Jared Kushner’s efforts?
Mr.
Kushner, Mr. Trump’s son-in-law, has testified that the Russian
ambassador proposed getting Mr. Flynn in contact with Russian officials
to discuss Syria. In response, Mr. Kushner said, he proposed using
secure phones inside the Russian Embassy — a highly unusual suggestion
that was not accepted.
• What do you know about a 2017 meeting in Seychelles involving Erik Prince?
The
meeting was convened by Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan of the United Arab
Emirates. It brought Mr. Prince, an informal adviser to Mr. Trump’s
team, together with a Russian investor close to Mr. Putin.
• What do you know about a Ukrainian peace proposal provided to Mr. Cohen in 2017?
Mr. Cohen, the lawyer, hand-delivered to the White House a peace proposal
for Ukraine and Russia. This unusual bit of backdoor diplomacy is of
interest because it involved a Ukrainian lawmaker who said he was being
encouraged by Mr. Putin’s aides. Mr. Cohen has said he did not discuss
the proposal with Mr. Trump.
Matt Apuzzo is a two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter based in Washington. He has covered law enforcement and security matters for more than a decade and is the co-author of the book "Enemies Within."
Michael S. Schmidt is a Washington correspondent for The Times who covers national security and federal investigations. He was part of two teams that won Pulitzer Prizes in 2018 — one for reporting on workplace sexual harassment issues and the other for coverage of President Donald Trump and his campaign’s ties to Russia.
A version of this article appears in print on , on Page A16 of the New York edition with the headline: The Questions, With Context. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe
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