Trump blasts leak of Mueller questions as ‘disgraceful’

President Donald Trump on Tuesday claimed that a set of leaked questions special counsel Robert Mueller wants to ask him shows that the Russia probe is a pointless exercise, even as Trump’s rebooted legal team is working behind the scenes to defuse the sprawling and intensifying investigation.

The president lashed out after The New York Times published what it said were at least four dozen questions Mueller’s team provided to Trump’s lawyers. The inquiries provided some of the deepest insight yet into the direction of Mueller’s investigation and showed how the special counsel is heavily focused on the question of whether Trump obstructed justice, as well as whether top aides such as former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort colluded with Russian officials during the campaign.

“So disgraceful that the questions concerning the Russian Witch Hunt were ‘leaked’ to the media. No questions on Collusion,” Trump wrote on Twitter. “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 tweet: “It would seem very hard to obstruct justice for a crime that never happened! Witch Hunt!”

Despite Trump’s claim that the Mueller questions do not touch on collusion, there are reportedly several such questions, including “What knowledge did you have of any outreach by your campaign, including by Paul Manafort, to Russia about potential assistance to the campaign?” and “What discussions did you have during the campaign regarding any meeting with Mr. Putin? Did you discuss it with others?”