Trump Criticizes Reports on Possible Questions from Special Counsel

Donald Trump has criticized the publication of reports in newspapers regarding possible questions from the special counsel investigating Russian interference in the U.S. elections, stating, "There was no collusion." The U.S. president wrote on Twitter on Tuesday that it is shameful for questions related to the Russia case to leak to the media when there is no question and no collusion has taken place, asserting that the entire collusion discussion is a fabricated issue. The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal reported on a list of possible questions that may be posed by Robert Mueller, the special counsel, to the U.S. president. The New York Times mentioned 40 questions that Mr. Mueller might have for the president. Following the firing of James Comey, the former head of the FBI, and while the Attorney General has recused himself from the investigation into possible Russian interference in the elections, the Deputy Attorney General appointed Robert Mueller as special counsel for this case. Robert Mueller, the former FBI director, has the judicial mandate to investigate any potential Russian interference in the recent U.S. presidential elections or possible collusion by individuals in Donald Trump's campaign with Russia. The New York Times report indicated that some of Robert Mueller's questions concern whether the U.S. president attempted to obstruct justice. Donald Trump tweeted: "It is very hard to obstruct justice for a crime that never happened." Reuters reported that they contacted the special counsel's office regarding the accuracy of these reports but received no response. Some of these questions pertain to Paul Manafort, the former head of Trump's campaign. Other questions in the report relate to whether Mr. Trump was aware of hacker interference or social media activities. The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal reported that these questions were received by Donald Trump's lawyers from Robert Mueller's investigative team last week. It has been reported that during that meeting, Mueller's team outlined the steps to reach a questioning session with Donald Trump.