As has been reported previously, Mueller has reportedly looked into Trump's tweets and other public statements targeting former FBI director Comey, former FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe, and former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions. In August, one tweet from Trump said that Sessions, who famously recused himself from the Russia investigation, "should stop this Rigged Witch Hunt right now, before it continues to stain our country any further."

Former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti argued at the time that this kind of tweet demonstrated "corrupt intent," and was "among the many reasons why Mueller will conclude Trump obstructed justice." Mariotti would add that Mueller and his prosecutors would have looked at that tweet and thought, "They think this is more evidence of corrupt intent. ... adding more tabs to their exhibit binder."

Now, Jeff Sessions is out of the picture and has been replaced by acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker, whose public statements on CNN in various forms indicated that Whitaker was more than a mere skeptic of the Mueller Probe. He said that Mueller may have gone "too far" and even used the president's own words ("witch hunt") to describe it.

As this Whitaker controversy is still brewing, the New York Times is providing information that could, in the same way as the aforementioned tweet, be seen as demonstrative proof of "corrupt intent." A prosecutor could persuasively argue that if Trump would suggest prosecuting Comey for his handling of the Clinton email probe, it stands to reason that Trump would fire Comey because of the Russia investigation.