Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email
The Trump administration has reportedly started handing over documents to the special counsel’s team investigating possible collusion between the President’s 2016 campaign and Russia’s alleged effort to interfere with the election.
Earlier this summer, it was revealed that special prosecutor Robert Muelle r had requested the White House preserve a number of documents relating to various members of Donald Trump’s campaign team.
He asked it to preserve evidence relating to former general Michael Flynn, who was forced to resign as Mr Trump’s national security adviser, as well as to a June 2016 meeting between a Kremlin-linked Russian lawyer and the President’s eldest son, son-in-law and campaign manager.
Putin and Trump joke about journalists being hostile to them Now it has emerged the White House has begun passing some of the those documents to Mr Mueller’s team, as he continues his probe into possible collusion and even obstruction of justice.
The Daily Beast said that Jones Day, the New York law firm representing Mr Trump’s campaign, had assigned lawyers to find documents relating to Mr Mueller’s investigation, and that John Dowd, a veteran Washington lawyer who is representing Mr Trump, is personally delivering them.
Trump and Putin passionately kiss in street muralShow all 14 1 /14Trump and Putin passionately kiss in street mural Trump and Putin passionately kiss in street mural A lesbian couple kisses in front of mural depicting Russian President Vladimir Putin and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, on the walls of a barbecue bar 'Keule Ruke' on May 19, 2016 in Vilnius, Lithuania.
Barcroft Media/Getty
Trump and Putin passionately kiss in street mural A lesbian couple kisses in front of mural depicting Russian President Vladimir Putin and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, on the walls of a barbecue bar 'Keule Ruke' on May 19, 2016 in Vilnius, Lithuania.
Barcroft Media/Getty
Trump and Putin passionately kiss in street mural VILNIUS, LITHUANIA - NOVEMBER 23: A woman walks past a mural showing U.S. President-elect Donald Trump (R) blowing marijuana smoke into the mouth of Russian President Vladimir Putin on the wall of a bar-b-que restaurant on November 23, 2016 in Vilnius, Lithuania. Many people in the three Baltic nations of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are concerned that Russia, because Trump has expressed both admiration for Putin and doubt over defending NATO member states, will be emboldened to intervene militarily in the Baltics.
Sean Gallup/Getty
Trump and Putin passionately kiss in street mural A woman walks past a mural on a restaurant wall depicting US Presidential hopeful Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin greeting each other with a kiss in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius on May 13, 2016. Kestutis Girnius, associate professor of the Institute of International Relations and Political Science in Vilnius university, told AFP -This graffiti expresses the fear of some Lithuanians that Donald Trump is likely to kowtow to Vladimir Putin and be indifferent to Lithuanias security concerns. Trump has notoriously stated that Putin is a strong leader, and that NATO is obsolete and expensive.
Petras Malukas/AFP/Getty Images
Trump and Putin passionately kiss in street mural
AP
Trump and Putin passionately kiss in street mural A child walks past a graffiti depicting Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, on the walls of a bar in the old town in Vilnius, Lithuania, Saturday, May 14, 2016. (AP Photo/Mindaugas Kulbis)
AP
Trump and Putin passionately kiss in street mural People walk past a mural on a restaurant wall depicting US Presidential hopeful Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin greeting each other with a kiss in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius on May 13, 2016. Kestutis Girnius, associate professor of the Institute of International Relations and Political Science in Vilnius university, told AFP -This graffiti expresses the fear of some Lithuanians that Donald Trump is likely to kowtow to Vladimir Putin and be indifferent to Lithuanias security concerns. Trump has notoriously stated that Putin is a strong leader, and that NATO is obsolete and expensive.
Petras Malukas/AFP/Getty Images
Trump and Putin passionately kiss in street mural A man photographs a mural on a restaurant wall depicting US Presidential hopeful Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin greeting each other with a kiss in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius on May 13, 2016. Kestutis Girnius, associate professor of the Institute of International Relations and Political Science in Vilnius university, told AFP -This graffiti expresses the fear of some Lithuanians that Donald Trump is likely to kowtow to Vladimir Putin and be indifferent to Lithuanias security concerns. Trump has notoriously stated that Putin is a strong leader, and that NATO is obsolete and expensive.
Petras Malukas/AFP/Getty Images
Trump and Putin passionately kiss in street mural
AP
Trump and Putin passionately kiss in street mural A young woman walks past a mural showing U.S. President-elect Donald Trump (R) blowing marijuana smoke into the mouth of Russian President Vladimir Putin with the slogan "make everything great again," in reference to Trump's campaign slogan of "Make America Great Again," on the wall of a bar-b-que restaurant on November 23, 2016 in Vilnius, Lithuania. Many people in the three Baltic nations of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are concerned that Russia, because Trump has expressed both admiration for Putin and doubt over defending NATO member states, will be emboldened to intervene militarily in the Baltics.
Sean Gallup/Getty
Trump and Putin passionately kiss in street mural A morning commuter stops to look at a mural on a restaurant wall depicting US Presidential hopeful Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin greeting each other with a kiss in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius on May 13, 2016. Kestutis Girnius, associate professor of the Institute of International Relations and Political Science in Vilnius university, told AFP -This graffiti expresses the fear of some Lithuanians that Donald Trump is likely to kowtow to Vladimir Putin and be indifferent to Lithuanias security concerns. Trump has notoriously stated that Putin is a strong leader, and that NATO is obsolete and expensive.
Petras Malukas/AFP/Getty Images
Trump and Putin passionately kiss in street mural Restaurant owner Dominykas Ceckauskas pose next to a mural on the wall of his establishment depicting US Presidential hopeful Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin greeting each other with a kiss in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius on May 13, 2016. Kestutis Girnius, associate professor of the Institute of International Relations and Political Science in Vilnius university, told AFP -This graffiti expresses the fear of some Lithuanians that Donald Trump is likely to kowtow to Vladimir Putin and be indifferent to Lithuanias security concerns. Trump has notoriously stated that Putin is a strong leader, and that NATO is obsolete and expensive. / AFP / Petras Malukas (Photo credit should read PETRAS MALUKAS/AFP/Getty Images)
Petras Malukas/AFP/Getty Images
Trump and Putin passionately kiss in street mural A passerby photographs a mural showing U.S. President-elect Donald Trump (R) blowing marijuana smoke into the mouth of Russian President Vladimir Putin on the wall of a bar-b-que restaurant on November 23, 2016 in Vilnius, Lithuania. Many people in the three Baltic nations of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia are concerned that Russia, because Trump has expressed both admiration for Putin and doubt over defending NATO member states, will be emboldened to intervene militarily in the Baltics.
Sean Gallup/Getty
Trump and Putin passionately kiss in street mural
Getty
Mr Dowd said he was “too tied up” to speak on Tuesday. However, he told the Daily Beast the campaign was in “total cooperation” with Mr Mueller.
“Jones Day has got a wonderful team handling the production,” Mr Dowd said.
The Trump campaign has previously turned over documents to congressional investigators, but this was reportedly the first instance of documents produced for Mueller’s office at the Justice Department. It may suggest that Mr Mueller’s investigation and those being carried out by officials on Capitol Hill, may be focussing on common ground.
Earlier this year, it was reported that Mr Mueller’s office had asked that the White House preserve any documentation relating to the meeting in the summer of 2016 between Mr Trump’s senior aides and Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya.
Donald Trump Jr said he had agreed to the meeting after being told the lawyer wanted to provide incriminating material about Hillary Clinton. He said she actually offered no such information but rather wanted to press him about the Magnitsky Act, a US law that blacklists several Russians linked to the 2009 murder of another Russian lawyer, Sergei Magnitsky.
“If its what you say I love it,” Mr Trump Jr initially said, when told about the information he claimed he had been offered.
Ms Veselnitskaya has denied working for the Russian authorities or offering any incriminating information to the Trump campaign.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies