Mueller’s questions of President Trump have been released. They cover possible collusion, and possible obstruction of justice related to Flynn and Comey.
The first two questions and the sixth one tell all.
Here are the first two questions…
1. When did you become aware of the June 9, 2016 Trump Tower meeting between Don Trump Jr and a Russian lawyer offering dirt on Hillary Clinton?
2. What involvement did you have in the communication strategy, including the release of Donald Trump Jr's emails about the meeting?
And here is the sixth…
6. What discussions did you have during the campaign regarding Russian sanctions?
As noted here previously, Mueller is laser focused on this meeting wherein three American nationals met a representative of a foreign state for the purpose of receiving hacked and stolen information from that state in order to subvert a US presidential election. This was likely in return for an undertaking to relax sanctions on that state once the person was elected. If this is proven, it would constitute a conspiracy against the USA.
As noted here previously, Mueller is laser focused on this meeting wherein three American nationals met a representative of a foreign state for the purpose of receiving hacked and stolen information from that state in order to subvert a US presidential election. This was likely in return for an undertaking to relax sanctions on that state once the person was elected. If this is proven, it would constitute a conspiracy against the USA.
The first question above is designed to bait Trump into lying about when he knew about the meeting. The Cohen and other e-mails likely outline that he knew well in advance, not only about the meeting, but about what was to be discussed. If he confirms that he knew in advance, this makes him a possible co-conspirator to a conspiracy against the USA. If he says he did not know until after the meeting, he will likely be shown by the e-mails to be lying thereby setting up an obstruction of justice charge. He needs to take the Fifth on this one.
The second question strongly suggest that Hope Hicks has already flipped and is already a state witness.
The second question is another attempt to set Trump up. The fact is that the cover story for this meeting was crafted by Hicks and Trump himself on Air Force One. Anyone crafting that cover story is liable to be charged as an accessory after the fact to a conspiracy against the USA. If he says that he participated, he may be liable to be so charged. If he says that he was not involved, the e-mails and Hick’s likely testimony would presumably show that he is lying, thereby setting up an obstruction of justice charge. He needs to take the Fifth on this one as well.
The sixth question relates to the quid pro quo that Russia would have received for helping Trump’s campaign – the relaxation of sanctions. This was the very topic of conversation between Flynn and the Russian ambassador before he was caught in his lies about what he was doing, and resigned. If Trump says he discussed this, he is confirming the quid pro quo to the Russians and implicating himself in a possible conspiracy – assuming there was such a quid pro quo, which no one has acknowledged yet. If he says there was no conversation about this issue, this would likely be contradicted by Flynn’s testimony, thereby setting up an obstruction of justice charge. Trump needs to take the Fifth on this one too.
Mueller likely doesn’t care about Comey and obstruction of justice. The above noted questions show the true essence of his investigation.
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