Robert Mueller's questions reflect trail of investigation, but US midterms will be deciding factor

Analysis: If Democrats win control of the Senate and House then impeachment of Trump becomes much more likely

Questions looking into alleged collusion range from Mr Trump’s finances, to backchannel connections with the Kremlin (AP)

The questions Robert Mueller would like to ask Donald Trump in his investigation into whether the US president was the Muscovite Candidate for the White House reflect the trail that the special counsel’s team have been following –examining links with Russia and whether there have been attempts at obstruction of justice to cover it up.

Mr Mueller has drawn on Mr Trump’s tweets, produced on an industrial scale, to formulate some of these inquiries, a gift that keeps on giving for the investigators as the president fires off boasts and threats on social media which may turn out to be damaging and self-incriminating.

In his first response, inevitably in a tweet, Mr Trump said the leaking of the Mueller questions was “so disgraceful”, and claimed that none of them concerned collusion with Russia. That is incorrect: although the word ‘collusion’ is not in any of the questions, some of them directly address the issue of whether the numerous links between Russia and Mr Trump, his officials and members of his family were collusive.

One question, in particular, points to fresh information being received: “What knowledge did you have of any outreach by your campaign, including by Paul Manafort, to Russia about potential assistance to the campaign?” Although Mr Manafort, Mr Trump’s former campaign manager, had Russian links, mainly through his campaign management of Viktor Yanukovych, the deposed pro-Moscow Ukrainian president, “outreach” for campaign assistance appears to be new.

The questions looking into alleged collusion range from Mr Trump’s finances, to backchannel connections with the Kremlin regarding the election. Some of them relate to material gathered by Christopher Steele, the former MI6 officer, for his controversial dossier on Mr Trump.

The questions go into what discussions Mr Trump may have had with Michael Cohen, his personal lawyer whose offices were recently raided, about real estate deals in Moscow.

There are also questions about the links of Mr Manafort – who has been arrested and charged – with Russia, and the connections his former National Security Advisor, Lieutenant General Michael Flynn, also since arrested and charged, had with Russia.

There are questions about a meeting that Mr Trump’s son, Donald Junior, son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and Mr Manafort had with a Russian lawyer, Natalia Veselnitskaya, who supposedly had information damaging to Hillary Clinton.

Ms Veselnitskaya subsequently stated in a TV interview: “I am a lawyer and I am an informant. Since 2013 I have been actively communicating with the office of the Russian prosecutor general.”

There are questions, too, about Roger Stone, a long-time Trump confidant, who claims to have had prior knowledge of leaked Democratic party emails.

The 40 questions also include ones about what exactly happened at Mr Trump’s 2013 visit to the Miss Universe pageant in Moscow during which, in the most salacious of the claims made by Mr Steele, Mr Trump got two prostitutes to urinate on a hotel room bed once used by Barack and Michelle Obama.

Mr Trump has strenuously denied the claims. But former FBI director James Comey recalled in his memoirs how the president would repeatedly bring up, unsolicited, the issue of the Moscow prostitute allegations and other suggestions of sexual impropriety made against him.

The sacking of Mr Comey by Mr Trump is one of the key issues in the tranche of questions relating to the alleged cover-up and attempt to obstruct justice. Mr Trump had himself suggested that he fired the head of the FBI because of the Russia investigation.

Other questions are about Mr Trump’s veiled threats to fire Attorney General Jeff Sessions for excusing himself from the Russia investigation when, the president felt, he should have been in charge of it providing protection; there were similar threats to fire Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who is overseeing the Mueller investigation.

Mr Mueller also turns to Mr Trump’s attempts to fire him and close down the Russia investigation. The president desisted, for the time being, after the White House counsel, Donald F McGahn, threatened to resign in protest.

“What consideration and discussions did you have regarding terminating the special counsel in June 2017?” Mr Mueller plans to ask.

“What did you think and do in reaction to January 25th story about the termination of the special counsel and Don McGahn backing you off the termination?”

Where will all this lead? Mr Trump has expressed willingness to be interviewed by Mr Mueller’s team, but negotiations over it have been dragging on.

The president’s legal team are said to be worried that their hubristic client would not be able to help incriminate himself under questioning.

John Dowd, the lead lawyer, resigned after failing to persuade Mr Trump to rule out an interview with Mr Mueller. Mr Trump has since been facing difficulties in finding lawyers to represent him, with five prestigious legal firms refusing to do so. He has hired Rudy Giuliani, but the former New York Mayor could become a subject of the investigation himself over past remarks he has made about FBI investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails.

Mr Trump has frequently ranted against the Mueller investigation and threatened to shut it down. To do so he will have to fire Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein first and replace him with someone more pliable.

Time is now a crucial factor. Congress is considering legislation that will protect the special counsel, but the Republicans seem to be in no hurry to do so.

If the Democrats win control of the Senate and the House in the midterm election then the impeachment of Mr Trump becomes much more likely, which is exactly the message the Republicans are planning to put out to get the Trump loyalists voting.

The fate of the investigation into whether Russia influenced the US presidential election is likely to be decided, at the end, by voters going to the polls in seven months’ time, provided, of course, Mr Trump cam be stopped from sacking Mr Mueller before then.