Donald Trump brags about answering Mueller probe questions

President Donald Trump said on Friday he had "very easily" answered written questions from Robert Mueller, the special counsel leading the Russia probe, though he speculated that the questions had been "tricked up" to try to catch him in a lie.

He said he hadn't submitted his answers to investigators yet.

"You have to always be careful when you answer questions with people that probably have bad intentions," he told reporters in his latest swipe at the investigation into 2016 election interference and possible ties between Moscow and the president's campaign.

The president did not say when he would turn over the answers to Mr Mueller, but his attorney, Rudy Giuliani, indicated it could happen next week.

The special counsel has signalled a willingness to accept written answers on matters related to collusion with Russia. But Mr Giuliani has said repeatedly the president would not answer Mr Mueller's questions on possible obstruction of justice.

During months of back-and-forth negotiations with the special counsel's office, Mr Trump's lawyers have repeatedly counseled the president against sitting down for an in-person interview.

Mr Trump's written response, though not yet delivered, signals a new phase in the Mueller probe, the year-and-a-half-long investigation that has produced guilty pleas and convictions from several senior Trump aides even as the special counsel and the White House engaged in lengthy negotiations about how - or if - the president would testify.

Though he spent hours with his attorneys, Mr Trump insisted: "My lawyers don't write answers, I write answers."

The president's remarks were fresh evidence of his return to the ominous rhythms of the Russia probe after spending heady weeks enjoying adulation-soaked campaign rallies before the midterm elections.

Despite Trump's insistence Friday that he's "very happy" with how things are going, his frustrations with the ongoing probe have been evident everywhere from his overheated Twitter feed this week to his private grousing that the special counsel may target his family.

Adding to his grim outlook has been the barrage of criticism he's getting over his choice for acting attorney general and late-arriving election results that have largely been tipping toward House Democrats.

"The inner workings of the Mueller investigation are a total mess," Trump tweeted Thursday as part of a series of morning posts. The investigators don't care "how many lives they can ruin," he wrote.

A day later, he tried to put a rosier shine on the situation, telling reporters: "I'm sure it will be just fine."