Did Paul Manafort reach out to Russia to ask for help? Did Donald Trump offer Mike Flynn a pardon?
Special counsel Robert Mueller has dozens of questions for President Donald Trump about Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, and obstruction of the investigation led by Mueller.
They include questions on “any efforts made to reach out to Mr. Flynn about seeking immunity or possible pardon.”
Another question will make headlines tonight: “What knowledge did you have of any outreach by your campaign, including by Paul Manafort, to Russia about potential assistance to the campaign?” As the Times notes, “No such outreach has been revealed publicly.”
Here's the entire list, and from a related analysis by the New York Times ' Michael Schmidt:
The open-ended queries appear to be an attempt to penetrate the president’s thinking, to get at the motivation behind some of his most combative Twitter posts and to examine his relationships with his family and his closest advisers. They deal chiefly with the president’s high-profile firings of the F.B.I. director and his first national security adviser, his treatment of Attorney General Jeff Sessions and a 2016 Trump Tower meeting between campaign officials and Russians offering dirt on Hillary Clinton.
But they also touch on the president’s businesses; any discussions with his longtime personal lawyer, Michael D. Cohen, about a Moscow real estate deal; whether the president knew of any attempt by Mr. Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, to set up a back channel to Russia during the transition; any contacts he had with Roger J. Stone Jr., a longtime adviser who claimed to have inside information about Democratic email hackings; and what happened during Mr. Trump’s 2013 trip to Moscow for the Miss Universe pageant.
The questions provide the most detailed look yet inside Mr. Mueller’s investigation, which has been shrouded in secrecy since he was appointed nearly a year ago. The majority relate to possible obstruction of justice, demonstrating how an investigation into Russia’s election meddling grew to include an examination of the president’s conduct in office. Among them are queries on any discussions Mr. Trump had about his attempts to fire Mr. Mueller himself and what the president knew about possible pardon offers to Mr. Flynn.
From the Times' synopsis of Mueller's questions for Trump about 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?
• What did you know about phone calls that Mr. Flynn made with the Russian ambassador, Sergey I. Kislyak, in late December 2016?
• What was your reaction to news reports on Jan. 12, 2017, and Feb. 8-9, 2017?
• How was the decision made to fire Mr. Flynn on Feb. 13, 2017?
• After the resignations, what efforts were made to reach out to Mr. Flynn about seeking immunity or possible pardon?
From the NYT, on exactly what they published:
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.
Reactions from journalists at the New York Times and elsewhere, below.
“What knowledge did you have of any outreach by your campaign, including by Paul Manafort, to Russia about potential assistance to the campaign?” No such outreach has been revealed publicly. https://t.co/oDVXfHJ2Se
— Ken Dilanian (@KenDilanianNBC) May 1, 2018
This Mueller question really stands out: pic.twitter.com/0Q8QY5lAge
— Adam Goldman (@adamgoldmanNYT) May 1, 2018
My most cynical source in DC sent me NYT story on Mueller's questions for Trump with one word: "Wild." Indeed.
— Josh Dawsey (@jdawsey1) May 1, 2018
One fascinating question that Mueller wants to ask Trump is about Paul Manafort's outreach to Moscow "about potential assistance to the campaign." Nothing about that has been reported, suggesting that Mueller knows about collusion that has not yet become public.
— Nicholas Kristof (@NickKristof) May 1, 2018
Rudy Giuliani has really nailed it in his efforts to wind down the Mueller probe. https://t.co/wc4ECuxlzD
— Jim Roberts (@nycjim) May 1, 2018
Seems significant https://t.co/HEquzsc2ZN pic.twitter.com/SwMlnNRVL6
— Gideon Resnick (@GideonResnick) May 1, 2018
Could be someone on the president's TEAM who wants to get the President to fire Mueller now that these are made public https://t.co/dn77ExxEAg
— Rick Hasen (@rickhasen) May 1, 2018
Answer: "No collusion!" https://t.co/vsoyWw5qcu
— Karen Tumulty (@ktumulty) May 1, 2018