On Tuesday morning, President Trump responded to the New York Times publishing a list of questions that special counsel Robert Mueller reportedly wants to ask him by touting that there are “[n]o questions on Collusion.”

“So disgraceful that the questions concerning the Russian Witch Hunt were ‘leaked’ to the media,” Trump tweeted. “No questions on Collusion. Oh, I see…you have a made up, phony crime, Collusion, that never existed, and an investigation begun with illegally leaked classified information. Nice!”

So disgraceful that the questions concerning the Russian Witch Hunt were “leaked” to the media. No questions on Collusion. Oh, I see…you have a made up, phony crime, Collusion, that never existed, and an investigation begun with illegally leaked classified information. Nice! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 1, 2018

There’s just one problem — the list actually contains 13 questions directly pertaining to “campaign coordination with Russia,” as the Times puts it, including:

— When did you become aware of the Trump Tower meeting? — What involvement did you have in the communication strategy, including the release of Donald Trump Jr.’s emails? — During a 2013 trip to Russia, what communication and relationships did you have with the Agalarovs and Russian government officials? — What communication did you have with Michael D. Cohen, Felix Sater and others, including foreign nationals, about Russian real estate developments during the campaign? — What discussions did you have during the campaign regarding any meeting with Mr. Putin? Did you discuss it with others? — What discussions did you have during the campaign regarding Russian sanctions? — What involvement did you have concerning platform changes regarding arming Ukraine? — During the campaign, what did you know about Russian hacking, use of social media or other acts aimed at the campaign? — What knowledge did you have of any outreach by your campaign, including by Paul Manafort, to Russia about potential assistance to the campaign? — What did you know about communication between Roger Stone, his associates, Julian Assange or WikiLeaks? — What did you know during the transition about an attempt to establish back-channel communication to Russia, and Jared Kushner’s efforts? — What do you know about a 2017 meeting in Seychelles involving Erik Prince? — What do you know about a Ukrainian peace proposal provided to Mr. Cohen in 2017?

You can read the full list of the questions Mueller wants to ask Trump here.

Trump’s casual lie about the nature of Mueller’s questions illustrates why his legal advisers think it’s risky for the president to sit down for an interview with the special counsel.

As the Times reports, “Mueller has sought for months to question the president, who has in turn expressed a desire, at times, to be interviewed, viewing it as an avenue to end the inquiry more quickly. His lawyers have been negotiating terms of an interview out of concern that their client — whose exaggerations, half-truths and outright falsehoods are well documented — could provide false statements or easily become distracted.”


Trump’s comment about how it is “disgraceful” that Mueller’s questions were leaked is ironic, given that it appears the leak came from someone in his inner circle. The Times notes that the questions were read by Mueller’s team to Trump’s lawyers, who “compiled them into a list.” The document put together by Trump’s lawyers was then provided to The Times “by a person outside Mr. Trump’s legal team.”

Aside from collusion, Mueller also reportedly wants to ask Trump a series of questions about former national security adviser Michael Flynn, former FBI director James Comey, and Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

In a subsequent tweet, Trump claimed that “[i]t would seem very hard to obstruct justice for a crime that never happened! Witch Hunt!”

It would seem very hard to obstruct justice for a crime that never happened! Witch Hunt! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 1, 2018

Trump’s legal analysis is mistaken. While Justice Department precedent says that sitting presidents cannot be charged with a crime while they are in office, obstruction of justice is a federal offense.