For a long time it had been discussed in what form the US president would answer the special investigator in the Russia affair. Now Donald Trump has submitted his answers in writing to Robert Mueller’s office. Trump’s lawyer Jay Sekulov said on Tuesday. Mueller’s investigation revolves around the question of whether and to what extent Russian government circles interfered in the US presidential election of 2016 – and whether the camp of then-candidate Donald Trump knew about it or was even actively involved.
Last week, the president told reporters that it was not his lawyers who formulated the answers, but himself. This is considered an important milestone in Mueller’s investigation, as the President will personally provide key information for the first time, which the special investigator’s team will review. In addition to a possible agreement with Russia, it is also about the question of whether Trump has tried in the wake of the scandal to obstruct the judiciary.
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The Washington Post reports, citing one of Trump’s lawyers, that the president’s answers contain no big surprises. There is nothing in it that is not already publicly known. Trump had flatly rejected the allegations in the past and condemned the investigation as a „witch hunt“.
Trump is said to have tried to apprehend the Justice Department on Clinton and Comey
Parallel to the news that Mueller now Trump answers, were on Tuesday evening (local time) new allegations public. For example, the New York Times reports that in the spring of this year, the president attempted to target the Justice Department on two of his political opponents: his Democratic opposition presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton, and ex-FBI chief James Comey. The newspaper reports, citing two persons familiar with the conversation.
White House Legal Adviser Donald McGahn allegedly advised Trump that he did not have the authority to order such an investigation. He could only make a corresponding request – but this could be interpreted as an abuse of power on the part of the President. For clarification, McGahn had his staff write a memo, that Trump set out possible legal consequences – up to an impeachment.
