Report Sees 'Huge Clue' as to Mueller Strategy

Special counsel focusing on post-election activities, says Axios: obstruction, not collusion
By Newser Editors,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 19, 2018 8:48 AM CDT
Report Sees 'Huge Clue' as to Mueller Strategy
A file photo of Robert Mueller testifying before a congressional panel.   (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Think obstruction, not collusion. That's the takeaway of a report in Axios about what it sees as a "huge clue" in Robert Mueller's strategy. In his conversations with President Trump's lawyers, Mueller has been focusing on things that happened after the election—including the firing of James Comey and Michael Flynn—rather than on things that happened during the runup to the 2016 vote, writes Mike Allen. "That suggests he's looking more at obstruction of justice, things that might have happened in office, than he is at collusion, maybe something that happened during the campaign," Allen said on MSNBC.

"Both of those stories have a real Russia thread through them," he added. Over the weekend, Trump celebrated the firing of former FBI official Andrew McCabe and for the first time directly criticized Mueller by name in tweets. That prompted a slew of warnings from lawmakers in both parties worried the president may be positioning himself to fire the special counsel. Not so, said Trump attorney Ty Cobb later Sunday. "In response to media speculation and related questions being posed to the Administration, the White House yet again confirms that the President is not considering or discussing the firing of the Special Counsel," Cobb said in a statement, per the Hill. (More Robert Mueller stories.)

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