Donald Trump Says He Has Answered Robert Mueller's Questions, but Hasn't Submitted Them Yet

By David Jackson, USA TODAY

16 November 18

resident Donald Trump said Friday he has answered questions from special counsel Robert Mueller, but has not yet submitted them to prosecutors who are are investigating Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election.

Trump did not detail the questions or his answers, but again denied any kind of collusion with Russians who sought to influence the presidential election in his favor.

Trump also denied seeking to obstruct Mueller's investigation, even as he continued to attack the basis for it. The president said he answered Mueller's questions carefully because he feared Mueller and his attorneys might try to somehow trick him into making misstatements.

“You always have to be careful answering questions for people who have bad intentions," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.

“I haven’t submitted them," he said. "I just finished them."

The president took questions from the media after signing a bill designed to improve the nation's cybersecurity.

Trump again ripped the Mueller investigation as a “hoax,” but predicted he would be vindicated soon.

“From what I hear it’s ending and it’s going to be just fine,” Trump said.

He did not disclose how he might know of Mueller's plans.

Trump's disclosure marked the latest turn in negotiations that stretch back to late last year, when Mueller's office began seeking testimony from the president.

While Trump has refused to sit down with prosecutors for a face-to-face interview, he and his lawyers have worked in recent weeks on written responses to investigators' inquiries.

Mueller's office is investigating how Russia sought to influence the 2016 election by hacking Democrats' emails – and releasing them to the public – and by pushing negative fake news about Trump opponent Hillary Clinton.

Prosecutors are also looking into whether Trump sought to obstruct the investigation in various ways, including the 2017 dismissal of FBI Director James Comey.

In again attacking the Mueller investigation, Trump said "it should never have happened." He again accused the Democrats and Clinton of exaggerating Russian hacking to explain away their defeat.

"I easily won the election in the Electoral College," Trump said.

In denying collusion or obstruction, Trump repeatedly insisted he did the answers himself.

"My lawyers don’t write answers," Trump said. "I write answers."