Trump calls leak of Mueller questions 'disgraceful'
Trump claims there are no questions on "collusion."
President Donald Trump Tuesday morning tweeted the leak of the list of questions special counsel Robert Mueller wants to ask him is “disgraceful,” claiming that there are “no questions on Collusion,” despite the fact that one of the four main topics in the leaked list includes “campaign coordination with Russia.”
“So disgraceful that the questions concerning the Russian Witch Hunt were “leaked” to the media. No questions on Collusion,” the president tweeted.
ABC News has confirmed a list of roughly four dozen questions, first obtained by the New York Times, that describes issues the special counsel wants to address with the president.
Trump’s legal team and the special counsel's office both declined to comment to ABC News on the questions.
The questions were developed in part by Trump’s legal team after they recently met with investigators from Mueller’s office, multiple sources familiar with the list told ABC News. They are a result of the ongoing negotiations between Trump’s lawyers and the special counsel and based on four topic areas Mueller is interested in probing, the sources said.
ABC has previously reported on a list of categories that Mueller wants to ask Trump about that include: the firing of former FBI director James Comey, the firing of former national security adviser Michael Flynn, the June 2016 meeting with a Russian attorney in Trump Tower, and the president’s business dealings.
Among the questions leaked on Michael Flynn: “What did you know about phone calls that Mr. Flynn made with the Russian ambassador, Sergey Kislyak, in late December 2016?”
Flynn has pleaded guilty to lying about his conversations with Kislyak and has been cooperating with the special counsel. On the decision to fire James Comey, Mueller has a series of questions, including: “When was it made? Why? Who played a role? What did you mean when you told Russian diplomats on May 10, 2017, that firing Mr. Comey had taken the pressure off?”
For the last several months, the Trump legal team has been having active negotiations with the Mueller team working toward a potential interview which would have included either a face to face interview with parameters, a written questionnaire or some mix of both, sources have told ABC News.
ABC News reported last month that Trump was “less inclined” to sit down with Mueller for an interview following the FBI raid on his personal attorney Michael Cohen.