BAD PRESIDENT
Trump Repeatedly Lashes Out Over Leaked Special Counsel Questions That Likely Came From White House

President Donald Trump began Tuesday morning early with a tweet lashing out at the leaked 49 questions Special Counsel Robert Mueller wants to ask him. But as usual, Trump got all the facts wrong.
“So disgraceful that the questions concerning the Russian Witch Hunt were ‘leaked’ to the media,” he tweeted at 6:47 AM. “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!”
He followed up with another attack, clearly out of anger and frustration, just after 7:30 AM:
It would seem very hard to obstruct justice for a crime that never happened! Witch Hunt!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 1, 2018
First, it is widely believed that the questions were not leaked by the Mueller team – which has never leaked anything – but by someone close to the White House legal team. The New York Times, which broke the story by obtaining and first publishing the questions, says they did not come from the White House legal team.
The Times’ Michael Schmidt, in an MSNBC interview Monday night, strongly suggested the leak came from Trump’s team.
NYT’s Michael Schmidt @nytmike on where these 49 Mueller questions for Trump came from. pic.twitter.com/ZonYyBNu9p
— Maddow Blog (@MaddowBlog) May 1, 2018
As far as Trump’s claim there were no questions on collusion, that’s false; there was at least one: “What knowledge did you have of any outreach by your campaign, including by Paul Manafort, to Russia about potential assistance to the campaign?”
Trump is also wrong that the investigation began with illegally leaked classified information.
“The hacking [of the DNC] and the revelation that a member of the Trump campaign [George Papadopoulos] may have had inside information about it were driving factors that led the F.B.I. to open an investigation in July 2016 into Russia’s attempts to disrupt the election and whether any of President Trump’s associates conspired,” The New York Times reported in December.
Trump is also wrong that it is “very hard to obstruct justice for a crime that never happened.” As long as he attempts to thwart the investigation, it does not matter if there was ever a crime to begin with. Obstruction of justice can occur absent a crime.

Enjoy this piece?
… then let us make a small request. The New Civil Rights Movement depends on readers like you to meet our ongoing expenses and continue producing quality progressive journalism. Three Silicon Valley giants consume 70 percent of all online advertising dollars, so we need your help to continue doing what we do.
NCRM is independent. You won’t find mainstream media bias here. From unflinching coverage of religious extremism, to spotlighting efforts to roll back our rights, NCRM continues to speak truth to power. America needs independent voices like NCRM to be sure no one is forgotten.
Every reader contribution, whatever the amount, makes a tremendous difference. Help ensure NCRM remains independent long into the future. Support progressive journalism with a one-time contribution to NCRM, or click here to become a subscriber. Thank you. Click here to donate by check.
![]() |