Mueller's former assistant says grammatical errors prove leaked questions came from Trump

[DonViejo]

BY BROOKE SEIPEL - 05/01/18 07:55 AM EDT

Michael Zeldin, a CNN legal analyst and former assistant to Robert Mueller, said Tuesday he believes President Trump leaked the list of nearly 50 questions the special counsel allegedly wants to ask Trump.

“I think these are notes taken by the recipients of a conversation with Mueller’s office where he outlined broad topics and these guys wrote down questions that they thought these topics may raise,” Zeldin said on CNN's "New Day."

“Because of the way these questions are written... lawyers wouldn’t write questions this way, in my estimation. Some of the grammar is not even proper," he continued. "So, I don’t see this as a list of written questions that Mueller’s office gave to the president. I think these are more notes that the White House has taken and then they have expanded upon the conversation to write out these as questions.”

Zeldin worked as special counsel to Mueller in the early 90's when he served as the Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department's Criminal Division.

more + video:
http://thehill.com/homenews/news/385602-muellers-former-assistant-says-grammatical-errors-prove-leaked-questions-came

[tanyev]

1. Interesting.

[olegramps]

17. This just a continuation of Lee Atwater's dirty tricks campaign.

[elleng]

22. from which we'll NEVER be free.

[BobTheSubgenius]

28. Vicious campaign tactics didn't begin with Lee Atwater,

but he sure brought them into the modern era. MUCH more targeted and insidious than "My opponent is a heterosexual." The public, or at least a large part of the public, knows what that word means now, so creativity is needed.

Atwater even lied about having a religious epiphany as he was dying, a deceitful cynic to the end.

[olegramps]

31. I did not mean to infer it began with him. But he and his ilk intensified it. I want to add this:

In a February 1991 article for Life magazine, Atwater wrote:

My illness helped me to see that what was missing in society is what was missing in me: a little heart, a lot of brotherhood. The 1980s were about acquiring – acquiring wealth, power, prestige. I know. I acquired more wealth, power, and prestige than most. But you can acquire all you want and still feel empty. What power wouldn't I trade for a little more time with my family? What price wouldn't I pay for an evening with friends? It took a deadly illness to put me eye to eye with that truth, but it is a truth that the country, caught up in its ruthless ambitions and moral decay, can learn on my dime. I don't know who will lead us through the '90s, but they must be made to speak to this spiritual vacuum at the heart of American society, this tumor of the soul.

I agree that it rang hollow in light of the evil that he perpetuated and continues unabated by his cadre who are marching to the same drummer. Where and how will it end is anyone's guess. I don't think I will be around.

[DallasNE]

40. What Spiritual Vacuum?

We are up to our eyebrows in Evangelicals, who all support Trump, and things are worse than they were back in 1991. Religion is heartless so it remains this tumor of the soul. PU to the pew.

[Silver Gaia]

43. I don't know for sure what Atwater meant by this, but to my thinking,

this current wave of evangelicalism IS very much part of a spiritual vacuum. It actually has very little to do with spirituality. Religion and spirituality do not always go hand in hand. I do not mean this as criticism, just as a different way of looking at it. There is a very large (and yes, growing) spiritual vacuum (as in emptiness) in this country, in my opinion.

[ailsagirl]

30. I saw a program awhile back about Atwater ("The Boogie Man")

He was a real creep but I guess you could say karma got him in the end.

All told, very depressing.

[Shanti Mama]

2. I think Schmit (? author) wanted to say that last night.

On TRMS, he outlined the process taken with the two sides of lawyers pretty thoroughly. Talked about note-taking, etc.

[Zoonart]

5. So.... let's say that tRump's lawyers... say Rudy...

cobbled together these questions and leaked them to the press...is this more obstruction of justice?

last night John Dean seemed to think so.

[Shanti Mama]

10. No idea.

Just doesn't seem like Team Mueller would have leaked this.

[Fred Sanders]

20. Zero leaks from Team Mueller ever, then suddenly a leak after Rudy the Rudderless is on board

the sinking ship?

Sad and obvious.

[B2G]

23. Weren't the Flynn & Manafort indictments leaked?

I thought CNN reported on them a couple of days before they were announced. Not sure if they ever found out who leaked them though.

[triron]

38. Could easily be that Rudy is behind it. But why?

What is the motivation to do this? Seems pretty stupid to me.

[Fred Sanders]

46. Get ahead of the damage...Trump and Cohen lied...it was coming out anyway.

[Fullduplexxx]

3. Some of the grammar is not even proper,.... well the rubes wont know the difference

[Hortensis]

24. Lots of bad grammar and lack of proofing coming out

of that WH since Jan. 20, 2017. From various people embarrassing the erudite right.

We knew these weren't the original questions as submitted by Mueller, but rather short, restated versions. But as for Trump, I can't imagine him reading all 49 detailed questions, noting key words, much less editing them. It'd be interested to know if any particular phrases sound trumpish enough to suggest he gave those personal attention, though.

Lol. Imagining someone else removing a paragraph of suicidal stream-of-trumpishness some question triggered.

[UpInArms]

4. Maybe it came from the Russian trolls?

Their grammar is not so good.

[bucolic_frolic]

7. Shakin' in their boots when the stable genius testifies, scrambles logic and tests sanity

[Dorn]

8. So we got 'leaks' from John Barron -- is anyone suprised

This is DT's MO over and over --> John Barron has been doing this since the 1980s.

[kentuck]

9. I would not be surprised if Trump gave the questions to KellyAnne to pass to the press?

Who knows?

The important thing is that he answer the questions so Mueller can bring the investigation to an end, one way or another.

[triron]

39. He definitely will not.

[Johonny]

11. As soon as Trump called the leak of the questions disgraceful. I knew he leaked them.

[DallasNE]

25. I'm With You

Trump confirmed it. I suspect Rudy did the actual leaking. Quite the 1-2 punch.

[whopis01]

32. Exactly. I believe this is referred to as the "he who smelt it dealt it" principle. n/t

[Cracklin Charlie]

12. Makes sense.

[jrthin]

13. If the NYT's leaked this story from the tRUMP's team,

in a way, the NYT's is complicit in helping him. The NYT's get many leaks, and they are selective about the leaks they choose.

[leftyladyfrommo]

14. I don't think Mueller would have ever given the questions out at all.

He would know that they would immediately be leaked.

This doesn't sound like something that Mueller would have ever done.

[duforsure]

15. Trump had to leak these

Because he's desperate to create any chaos and division, and attention to use towards demonizing Mueller with somehow. This is a typical pattern trumps used before. The inability to use grammar says it all where it came from, and how he leaks stuff , like they've done to Kelly now, to use against them. trumps act of desperation will come back to haunt him, and he'll regret it, like he does now firing Comey. Trump never wanted to talk to Mueller I think , and his saying the opposite was another act from him, because he's really scared of facing him soon. He always has first said something the opposite of his real position on anything. Then he tries to claim both sides, then does what he wanted all along, and the opposite of his first statement.

[Sophia4]

36. It is an attempt by Trump to find an excuse to end the investigation.

It won't work.

[TrogL]

16. Somebody who understands this call into Smerconish show on POTUS

[olegramps]

19. Smercoish is a life time Republican. His "Independence" is a ruse.

He was out to destroy Hilary and chose one of the oldest tricks in the book. He breaks with the Republicans and indorses an Independent to suck votes away from Clinton insuring his candidate's win. Not much different than Republicans running as Green Party candidates. They know that many Democrats support these issues and can be induced to vote for these candidates. This is an inherant flaw in a basic two-party system. The Republcans have been pulling this crap for years, especially on the local and state level.

[Gothmog]

18. These questions were not written by the Mueller team

Trump's attorneys were given topics and came up with this list

[7962]

29. In that case, this doesn't even seem to be news. Just a wish list of sorts.

We'll spend a lot off time talking about it, but does it really MEAN anything legally? I doubt it. But who knows

[Owens]

21. Trump Trapped Himself

Mueller runs a tight ship, so I very much doubt anyone in his office is leaking anything. But now it would be great to compare Mueller's list to the one Trump leaked. Showing Trump leaked this to the Times himself. This could be a perfect way to trap Trump and force him to admit Trump leaked the questions in attempts to interfere with the investigation. I think Trump overplayed his hand on this.

[RockRaven]

26. HAHAHAHAHAHA

stupid stumblef*cks

Only the best people... believe me!

[Achilleaze]

27. republicans are so sneaky and untruthful

twisted freaking republican values are going to earn them all:

[C Moon]

33. You know Putin now has these questions, as well.

[Tavarious Jackson]

34. It just goes to show what idiots these people in the white house are. nt

[eppur_se_muova]

35. I love The Onion !

No .... no .... nooooooooooo .........

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

37. Kick

[Stuart G]

41. Yep....k and r...nt

[lastlib]

42. Then here is my take:

Michael Zeldin, a CNN legal analyst and former assistant to Robert Mueller, said Tuesday he believes President Trump leaked the list of nearly 50 questions the special counsel allegedly wants to ask Trump.

if this is true, then YES, I believe the leaker SHOULD be arrested and tossed in jail for a VERY LO-O-O-ONNNNNNNG time! with a very large fellow named Tyrone.......and I hope Tyrone teaches said leaker ALLLL the social graces of prison life........

[Mc Mike]

44. Sounds about right. The perfect tell, stupidity and upwardly failing incompetence,

combined with a leak? Gotta be the repugs.

[Nitram]

45. LOL! See kids, good grammar might keep you out of jail!

[trixie2]

47. I caught that right away

It was written by a second grader i.e. Trump.

[Scurrilous]

48. K&R