Robert Mueller’s Russia Investigation Is Circling in on Donald Trump

The president’s most controversial decisions are now under scrutiny.
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The ongoing Russia investigation has a very broad audience. Some of those diligently following and/or obsessing over it are praying that Robert Mueller’s inquiry is what finally topples Trump’s presidency, while others are just as fervently hoping that it exonerates him altogether. Regardless of exactly where they fall on the spectrum of hoped-for outcomes, though, there are doubtless many observers who just enjoy knowing that he’s probably feeling nervous. And for that last group, today brings some fun news.

What we've known of Mueller's investigation thus far has centered mostly on those operating in Trump's periphery, including the likes of Michael Flynn and Paul Manafort. But now, the New York Times is reporting that Mueller has asked the White House for all documents that implicate more than a dozen recent high-profile news stories—many of them directly dealing with the president. It's the first signal we've gotten that the investigation's focus is steering from the Trump administration to Trump himself.

According to the Times, Mueller is seeking documents related to Trump's firing of Michael Flynn as national security adviser, and to the White House's official response to the Times' questions about Donald Trump, Jr.'s July infamous meeting with a Russian lawyer. The elder Donald Trump, if you'll recall, allegedly played a direct role in trying to spin/cover up the details of that meeting. And of course, there's a request related to the single stupidest thing that happened all summer:

One of the requests is about a meeting Mr. Trump had in May with Russian officials in the Oval Office the day after James B. Comey, the F.B.I. director, was fired. That day, Mr. Trump met with the Russian foreign minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, and the Russian ambassador to the United States at the time, Sergey I. Kislyak, along with other Russian officials. The New York Times reported that in the meeting Mr. Trump had said that firing Mr. Comey relieved “great pressure” on him.

Basically, Robert Mueller is after the receipts for any headline you read over the past year that made you say something like, "I'm not a lawyer, but that sounds like a bad idea. " Or, possibly, "Is that not... extremely illegal?" This is a great time for anyone following the investigation out of pure schadenfreude, because as much as Trump may want to fire his way out of this mess, all he can do for now is squirm.

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