Attorney General Jeff Sessions was interviewed by special counsel Robert Mueller last week, making him the first member of Donald Trump’s Cabinet to be questioned as part of the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
The New York Times reports that Sessions was questioned for hours last week, and former FBI Director James Comey was questioned by Mueller last year.
Comey’s interview focused on the memos he wrote documenting his encounters with Trump. In those memos, Comey wrote about each time the president attempted to manipulate, dominate, bully and outright obstruct the federal investigation into Russian involvement in the election.
Mueller was appointed special counsel after a memo written by Comey revealed that the president had attempted to get him to put an end to the FBI’s investigation into former national security adviser Michael Flynn.
He was appointed to both investigate the Russian collusion and look into whether or not the president had obstructed justice.
Obstruction of justice appears to be the larger part of Mueller’s focus at this time, but he is still gathering information on possible Russian interference. Sessions, who was head of the Trump campaign’s foreign policy team, can answer questions on the campaign’s ties to the Russians as well as on whether or not Trump tried to obstruct the investigation.
Remember, Trump was very upset when Sessions recused himself from the Russia investigation last year and even said in an interview that he never would have given Sessions the job of attorney general if he had known that was going to happen.
Clearly, Sessions has tea to spill.
This is all leading up to the eventual interview between Trump and Mueller, during which the president will likely be questioned about his decisions to send both Flynn and Comey packing.
Trump’s team are already preparing themselves for the inevitable. They are hoping to come to an agreement with Mueller’s team that would allow for Trump’s testimony to be part face-to-face interview and part written statement, the Washington Post reports. It would appear that they don’t have much faith in the president’s ability to stick to the script under questioning.
According to the Post, Mueller also wants to speak with Trump about his attempts to either fire Sessions or get him to quit his job. A source told the Post that Mueller is looking to determine whether there is a pattern of behavior with the president.
I can answer that right now: Yes, there is. The sooner we get to that part of the dirt, the better.
If he is found to have obstructed justice, will that lead to impeachment? If they are digging up dirt on Trump, can they dig up dirt on his creepy friend from Indiana so that he can take him with him when he goes?
How much longer are we going to have to wait for the climax of this investigation to happen?
So many questions, not enough answers.
We’re counting on you, Robert Mueller. Don’t let us down, please.
Read more at the New York Times and the Washington Post.