Special Counsel Robert Mueller is trying to determine whether President Trump ever colluded with WikiLeaks during the 2016 campaign, NBC News reports. In July 2016, WikiLeaks published a trove of emails from the Democratic National Committee that U.S. intelligence agencies believe were obtained unlawfully by Russian hackers. Mueller is reportedly interested in what Trump knew about the emails, and when he knew it:
[Mueller's] team is asking witnesses pointed questions about whether [Trump] was aware that Democratic emails had been stolen before that was publicly known, and whether he was involved in their strategic release, according to multiple people familiar with the probe.
Mueller's investigators have asked witnesses whether Trump was aware of plans for WikiLeaks to publish the emails. [...]
The line of questioning suggests the special counsel, who is tasked with examining whether there was collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia during the 2016 election, is looking into possible coordination between WikiLeaks and Trump associates in disseminating the emails, which U.S. intelligence officials say were stolen by Russia. [NBC News]
Mueller's team pointed to remarks Trump made at a press conference in July 2016, when he appealed directly to Russia. "Russia, if you're listening," he said, "I hope you're able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing." Investigators reportedly want to know whether Trump made that comment because he already knew Russia had hacked the DNC.
Trump has consistently denied any allegations of collusion, and has insisted that he personally is not under investigation. Read more at NBC News.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Choline: the ‘under-appreciated’ nutrientThe Explainer Studies link choline levels to accelerated ageing, anxiety, memory function and more
-
Is a Putin-Modi love-in a worry for the rest of the world?Today’s Big Question The Indian leader is walking a ‘tightrope’ between Russia and the United States
-
Quiz of The Week: 29 November – 5 DecemberQuiz Have you been paying attention to The Week’s news?
-
Trump boosts gas cars in fuel economy rollbackspeed read Watering down fuel efficiency standards is another blow to former President Biden’s effort to boost electric vehicles
-
Hegseth’s Signal chat put troops in peril, probe findsSpeed Read The defense secretary risked the lives of military personnel and violated Pentagon rules, says new report
-
Trump pardons Texas Democratic congressmanspeed read Rep. Henry Cuellar was charged with accepting foreign bribes tied to Azerbaijan and Mexico
-
GOP wins tight House race in red Tennessee districtSpeed Read Republicans maintained their advantage in the House
-
Trump targets ‘garbage’ Somalis ahead of ICE raidsSpeed Read The Department of Homeland Security will launch an immigration operation targeting Somali immigrants in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area
-
Hegseth blames ‘fog of war’ for potential war crimespeed read ‘I did not personally see survivors,’ Hegseth said at a Cabinet meeting
-
Canada joins EU’s $170B SAFE defense fundspeed read This makes it the first non-European Union country in the Security Action for Europe (SAFE) initiative
-
Appeals court disqualifies US Attorney Alina HabbaSpeed Read The former personal attorney to President Donald Trump has been unlawfully serving as US attorney for New Jersey, the ruling says
