Washington: Robert Mueller III, the special counsel, has asked the White House for documents about some of President Trump’s most scrutinised actions since taking office, including the firing of his national security adviser and FBI director, according to White House officials.
Mueller is also interested in an Oval Office meeting Trump had with Russian officials in which he said the dismissal of then FBI chief James Comey had relieved “great pressure” on him. The requests show that several aspects of Mueller’s inquiry are focused squarely on Trump’s behaviour in the White House.
In recent weeks, Mueller’s office sent a document to the White House that detailed 13 areas in which investigators are seeking information. Since then, administration lawy- ers have been scouring White House emails and asking officials whether they have other documents or notes.
One of the requests about a meeting Trump had in May with the Russian foreign minister, Sergey Lavrov, and the Russian envoy to the US at the time, Sergey Kislyak, where he said that firing Comey relieved “great pressure” on him.
Mueller has also requested documents about the circumstances of the firing of Michael Flynn, who was Trump’s first national security adviser. The retired lieutenant general was fired in Fe- is bruary after it was revealed that he misled Vice President Mike Pence about December phone calls he had with Kislyak. Mueller has also asked for documents about how the White House responded to concerns raised by the justice department that Flynn might be subject to Russian blackmail for misleading Pence about the calls.
Additionally, Mueller has asked for documents about how the White House responded to questions from The Times about a June 2016 meeting at Trump Tower that was set up by Trump Jr to get derogatory information from Russi-
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