Trump Says Mueller’s Leaked Questions Don’t Involve Collusion. (Actually, They Do.)

This might happen to a person who doesn’t read.

Olivier Douliery/ZUMA

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.

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.

DONALD TRUMP & DEMOCRACY

Mother Jones was founded to do journalism differently. We stand for justice and democracy. We reject false equivalence. We go after stories others don’t. We’re a nonprofit newsroom, because the kind of truth-telling investigations we do doesn’t happen under corporate ownership.

And we need your support like never before, to fight back against the existential threats American democracy faces. Fundraising for nonprofit media is always a challenge, and we need all hands on deck right now. We have no cushion; we leave it all on the field.

It’s reader support that enables Mother Jones to report the facts that are too difficult, expensive, or inconvenient for other news outlets to uncover. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

payment methods

DONALD TRUMP & DEMOCRACY

Mother Jones was founded to do journalism differently. We stand for justice and democracy. We reject false equivalence. We go after stories others don’t. We’re a nonprofit newsroom, because the kind of truth-telling investigations we do doesn’t happen under corporate ownership.

And we need your support like never before, to fight back against the existential threats American democracy faces. Fundraising for nonprofit media is always a challenge, and we need all hands on deck right now. We have no cushion; we leave it all on the field.

It’s reader support that enables Mother Jones to report the facts that are too difficult, expensive, or inconvenient for other news outlets to uncover. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate