NEW YORK: One of the questions special counsel Robert Mueller is trying to answer is whether any obstruction by President Donald Trump furthered Moscow’s interests, Carl Bernstein of Watergate fame said in an interview with CNN on Sunday.

“I know where Mr Mueller’s investigation is going to end up, and it’s not looking good for Trump,” Mr Bernstein said on the network’s Reliable Sources programme.

Carl Bernstein is best known for his investigative reporting that shed light on the Watergate scandal leading to former president Richard Nixon’s resignation in 1974.

The day after Trump fired FBI director James Comey in 2017, an inquiry by a counter-intelligence agency and the FBI’s broader Russia investigation were clubbed together. Robert Mueller was appointed to lead the probe.

In a report last week, Washington Post reported President Trump took steps to protect his conversations with Russian President Vladimir Putin and on at least one occasion pressured a translator to shred notes he had taken during discussions between the two leaders.

He said Trump’s “lies” were all about Russia and suggested lawyers working with the White House told him they believe he hasn’t told the truth on a number of matters related to Russia.

“Part of what I know comes from lawyers of some of the other defendants, including members of the joint defence team which collaborates with White House, and those lawyers believe the president has been lying at every turn about his relationship with Russia,” Bernstein said.

“Look, let us look at all of the lies, follow the money, follow the lies. They are all mostly and most vehemently about Russia. Whether we are talking about [Michael] Flynn, Trump, his son, [Jared] Kushner, back to lying about questions having to do with Russia, about what happened at the Trump Tower meeting (between Trump and some Russains).”

Published in Dawn, January 16th, 2019