President Donald Trump seized on a collection of leaked questions special counsel Robert Mueller reportedly hopes to ask the president, claiming Tuesday morning that the list contains no queries about collusion between his campaign and Russia. The list, which was obtained by the New York Times, however, includes several questions related to collusion.
“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 asks. Another: “During the campaign, what did you know about Russian hacking, use of social media or other acts aimed at the campaign?” And again: “What did you know during the transition about an attempt to establish back-channel communication to Russia, and Jared Kushner’s efforts?”
Since the questions were published late Monday, speculation has focused on the likelihood that the list was leaked by a member of Trump’s legal team, or someone who obtained it from them. In any event, Trump’s demonstrated failure to properly review the questions and instead portray them as definitive proof of a “Russian Witch Hunt” might have something to do with the president’s well-known avoidance of reading.
So disgraceful that the questions concerning the Russian Witch Hunt were “leaked” to the media. No questions on Collusion. Oh, I see…you have a made up, phony crime, Collusion, that never existed, and an investigation begun with illegally leaked classified information. Nice!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 1, 2018