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[ad_1] Fact Check of the Day President Trump claimed “all these investigators” are Democrats — an overstatement — and incorrectly said that Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel, served under President Obama for eight years. President Trump addressing the National Rifle Association Leadership Forum on Friday in Dallas. Credit Tom Brenner/The New York Times President Trump said “So you have all these investigators; they’re Democrats. In all fairness, Bob Mueller worked for Obama for eight years.” the facts This is exaggerated. At least nine of the 17 lawyers on the team led by the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, have donated to Democratic campaigns, according to Federal Election Commission records. One has previously identified as a Democrat in a blog post . Three others are registered as Democrats, The Washington Post and PolitiFact have reported. But the political affiliations of the remaining four lawyers are unclear. A spokesman for the special counsel’s office confi...

[ad_1] “What efforts were made to reach out to Mr. Flynn about seeking immunity or possible pardon?” Mr. Mueller planned to ask, according to questions read by the special counsel investigators to the president’s lawyers, who compiled them into a list. That document was provided to The Times by a person outside Mr. Trump’s legal team. A few questions reveal that Mr. Mueller is still investigating possible coordination between the Trump campaign and Russia. In one of the more tantalizing inquiries, Mr. Mueller asks what Mr. Trump knew about campaign aides, including the former chairman Paul Manafort, seeking assistance from Moscow: “What knowledge did you have of any outreach by your campaign, including by Paul Manafort, to Russia about potential assistance to the campaign?” No such outreach has been revealed publicly. Jay Sekulow, a lawyer for Mr. Trump, declined to comment. A spokesman for the special counsel’s office did not respond to a request for comment. The questions ser...

[ad_1] Mr. Wisenberg said he was struck by Mr. Mueller’s focus on establishing the president’s mind-set when he weighed whether to fire Mr. Comey, and potential steps like whether to oust Attorney General Jeff Sessions, pardon people charged by Mr. Mueller or force the Justice Department to dismiss the special counsel. No Supreme Court precedent exists to guide Mr. Mueller on whether obstruction of justice can occur if a president exercises a constitutional power with a bad motive, like firing a subordinate to cover up a crime; Mr. Wisenberg counted himself among those who do not think it can. But Mr. Mueller’s questions, he said, suggest the special counsel has adopted a broader interpretation of the law. Some of the questions may present an opportunity for Mr. Trump, however. Asking him to explain what he meant when he told NBC News that he was thinking about the Russia investigation when he decided to fire Mr. Comey, for example, would permit Mr. Trump to backpedal on the remark or...

[ad_1] The questions about Mr. Comey relate to whether Mr. Trump fired Mr. Comey last year to shield Mr. Flynn, or anyone else, from prosecution. Mr. Trump has denied that, saying he fired Mr. Comey because of his mishandling of the F.B.I.’s investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server. This question is important because, if Mr. Trump truly was upset about the Clinton investigation, he would have shown an early distaste for Mr. Comey. What did you think about Mr. Comey’s intelligence briefing on Jan. 6, 2017, about Russian election interference? The briefing revealed that American intelligence agencies had concluded that Russian operatives meddled in the election to hurt Mrs. Clinton and to boost Mr. Trump. Mr. Trump has repeatedly cast doubt on these conclusions and said he believes the Russian president, Vladimir V. Putin, who denies any interference. This question addresses documents written by a retired British spy, Christopher Steele, who said that Russia had...