Robert Mueller drew up obstruction indictment against Donald Trump before shelving it, Michael Wolff book claims
Special Counsel Robert Mueller reportedly drew up a three-count obstruction of justice indictment against President Donald Trump before deciding to shelve it, according to an explosive claim made in a new book from 'Fire and Fury' author Michael Wolff. The special counsel's spokesperson, however, has denied the claim.
Wolff's latest book 'Siege: Trump Under Fire' is set to be published a week from now on June 4. The author's latest work is a sequel to 'Fire and Fury', published in 2018, which is Wolff’s bestseller on the first year of the Trump presidency.
Wolff, in an author's note, has written that his findings on the Mueller investigation are "based on internal documents given to me by sources close to the Office of the Special Counsel," according to the Guardian. The author's previous book highlighted the dysfunction within the Trump White House.
A spokesperson for Mueller, Peter Carr, however, told the outlet that "the documents that you’ve described do not exist."
Reports state that many of the assertions made in Wolff's previous books were later confirmed. The book, which sold nearly 5 million copies, also resulted in the removal of Trump advisor and alleged Wolff source Stephen Bannon. He also lost his place at Breitbart News.
Wolff, in his book, has claimed that Mueller’s office drew up a three-count outline of the president’s alleged abuses under the title “United States of America against Donald J Trump, Defendant”. The author claims that the document sat on Mueller's desk for nearly a year.
According to a document seen by the Guardian, the first count, under Title 18, United States code, Section 1505, charged Trump with corruptly – or by threats of force or threatening communication – influencing, obstructing or impeding a pending proceeding before a department or agency of the United States. The second count charged the president with tampering with a witness, victim or informant, under section 1512. The third count charged the president with tampering with a witness, victim or informant, under section 1513.
The outlet reported that the documents are the most significant part of Wolff's second book, in which the author claims that the draft indictment he examined says Trump’s attempts to obstruct justice “began on the seventh day of his administration, tracing the line of obstruction from National Security Advisor Michael Flynn’s lies to the FBI about his contacts with Russian representative[s], to the president’s efforts to have [FBI director] James Comey protect Flynn, to Comey’s firing, to the president’s efforts to interfere with the special counsel’s investigation, to his attempt to cover up his son and son-in-law’s meeting with Russian governmental agents, to his moves to interfere with Deputy Director of the FBI Andrew McCabe’s testimony …”
Mueller was appointed as special counsel in May 2017 to probe Russian interference in the 2016 elections, and possible links between the Trump campaign and Moscow in an attempt to influence the outcome of the polls in Trump's favor. Mueller also investigated potential obstruction of justice by the president.
The special counsel handed his final report to Attorney General William Barr on March 22 this year. The report, in turn, was made public in a redacted form on April 18 after Congress' demands. The Mueller report stated that although it did not find any conspiracy between Trump and Russia, there were 11 possible instances of obstruction of justice, suggesting that Congress should decide whether it wants to take any actions or not.