As usual, when it comes to Trump, there are more questions than answers, and it’s to be seen how he will respond to the 48 to be posed by special counsel Robert Mueller.
The list of questions Mueller provided to Trump’s lawyers is wide-ranging, from critically important ones that center on obstruction of justice to questions about the Ukraine.
“What was your opinion of Mr. Comey during the transition?” is one that strikes at the heart of the possibility of obstruction of justice, and Trump has given contradictory responses as to why he fired the former FBI chief. Getting his latest answer on this issue will be a key element in the move toward nailing Trump on the obstruction of justice.
“What do you know about a Ukrainian peace proposal provided to Mr. Cohen in 2017?” is a question that probes whether Cohen was conducting some backdoor diplomacy, a proposal that Cohen said he didn’t discuss with Trump. Whatever Trump’s answer is, there’s a good possibility that more will be disclosed on this matter once the documents confiscated from Cohen’s home, office and hotel room are examined.
Many of the questions seem to be designed to get Trump talking with the hope of his tripping up and contradicting himself, which he has done on many occasions. How these inconsistencies will play in the overall scheme of things is hard to discern until Trump responds. Moreover, how many more questions does Mueller have and how much is he holding back at this stage of the quizzing?
A major question beyond the 48 is what are the next steps in Mueller’s methodical investigation? If, for example, there is enough evidence obtained to make a case for obstruction of justice, how will it unreel and what are the steps for prosecution?
Once more with Trump, there are more questions, and we await the answers.