Mueller Russia investigation examining Trump's tweets about James Comey as possible obstruction of justice, says report

Special Counsel Robert Mueller is said to be examining Donald Trump’s tweets about James Comey and Jeff Sessions as part of his probe into the president's possible obstruction of justice.

Mr Trump has become famous for his tweeting and his ability to reach out directly to his supporters. Yet his comments are frequently considered rude, offensive, and even possibly intimidatory.

The New York Times said Mr Muller was “scrutinising” tweets and negative comments he had made about the former FBI Director and his serving Attorney General. It said the special counsel was also looking at remarks Mr Trump had made about former Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe.

“The special counsel’s investigators have told Mr. Trump’s lawyers they are examining the tweets under a wide-ranging obstruction-of-justice law beefed up after the Enron accounting scandal, according to the three people,” the newspaper said.

“The investigators did not explicitly say they were examining possible witness tampering, but the nature of the questions they want to ask the president, and the fact that they are scrutinising his actions under a section of the United States Code titled 'Tampering With a Witness, Victim, or an Informant,' raised concerns for his lawyers about Mr Trump’s exposure in the investigation.”

Mr Mueller’s office declined to comment on the development. However, the president’s lawyers have reportedly dismissed Mr Mueller’s interest in the tweets as part of a politicised effort to damage the president.

“If you’re going to obstruct justice, you do it quietly and secretly, not in public,” said Mr Trump’s lead lawyer, Rudolph Giuliani.

Mr Mueller, himself a former FBI Director, was chosen to oversee a probe into Russia’s alleged interference in the 2016 election, and its possible collusion with the Trump campaign, after Mr Trump fired Mr Comey in May 2017.

Mr Sessions recused himself from the probe because of conversations he had with Russian officials during the transition period which he did not immediately declare.

Mr Trump has repeatedly criticised Mr Sessions for recusing himself, and said he would not have nominated him for the job of attorney general if he had known the former senator would have done so.

The newspaper said Mr Mueller’s team wanted to ask Mr Trump about the tweets he wrote about Mr Sessions and Mr Comey and why he has continued to publicly criticise them, along with Mr McCabe, another witness against the president.

It said they also want to know about a January episode in the Oval Office in which Mr Trump asked the White House counsel, Donald McGahn, about reports that Mr McGahn told investigators about the president’s efforts to fire Mr Mueller.