President Trump sent written answers to special counsel Bob Mueller for the Russia probe Tuesday, his lawyer said.The move follows months of back-and-forth between the president and the special counsel’s legal teams over whether Trump would submit to questioning from Mueller about his campaign’s involvement with Russian efforts to influence the 2016 election."The President today answered written questions submitted by The Special Counsel's Office. The questions presented dealt with issues regarding the Russia-related topics of the inquiry. The President responded in writing,” Jay Sekulow, counsel to the president, said in a statement, according to ABC News.Trump apparently didn’t address the subject of obstruction of justice, another fundamental question Mueller has been tasked with investigating.Read: Matt Whitaker’s appointment is already threatening to throw the American legal system into chaosThe news isn’t entirely surprising. Trump said last week that he’d finished writing the answers but hadn’t submitted them yet, in comments made during a bill signing. And he insisted he’d authored the responses personally, despite the widespread presumption among legal experts that the president’s lawyers must have been deeply involved in drafting the answers.“I write the answers. My lawyers don't write answers,” Trump said. “I was asked a series of questions. I've answered them very easily — very easily.”Trump has long maintained there was “no collusion” between his campaign and Russia, and he's repeatedly blasted Mueller’s team for leading a “biased witch hunt.”Read: Acting AG Matt Whitaker worked for a company that hawked “time travel” technology and other insane productsThe day after the midterm elections, Trump appeared to escalate his war on Mueller with the controversial appointment of Matt Whitaker as Acting Attorney General. Legal observers argue that Whitaker’s appointment is unconstitutional because he was not confirmed by the Senate, and they warn that his previous criticism of Mueller suggests he may use his new position to try to clip Mueller’s wings.READ: Ken Starr says Mueller may indict Trump after his presidencyTrump has only grown more hostile toward Mueller since the midterms, repeatedly attacking the special counsel on Twitter and in interviews with the press.Several former high-ranking members of Trump’s campaign have pled guilty to charges brought by the special counsel’s office, including Trump's 2016 campaign chairman Paul Manafort and former national security advisor Michael Flynn.A spokesperson for the special counsel’s office declined to comment.Cover image: Special Counsel Robert Mueller departs after briefing the House Intelligence Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., June 20, 2017. REUTERS/Aaron P. Bernstein/File Photo
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