An insider account of the White House has the feeling of an outside view and invites the refusal of Mueller

WASHINGTON – Two years ago, the author, Michael Wolff, invoked one of President Trump's most powerful advisers, Stephen K. Bannon, in "Fire and Fury," a striking and confusing tale of the chaotic White House of Mr. Trump. . The book is sold to over four million copies, despite the outstanding issues as to its accuracy.

Now, Mr. Wolff is back with a sequel, "Siege: Trump Under Fire", which seems to depend as much on Mr. Bannon. But the author's source left the White House in August 2017 and is closely monitoring Trump's presidency in circus form. This gives a second-hand impression of the revelations of Mr. Wolff's latest book. One of his most sensational affirmations gave rise to a quick and emphatic rebuttal.

The spokesman of Robert S. Mueller III, special counsel for the investigation of Russia, denied Mr. Wolff's statement that in March 2018, Mr. Mueller was preparing to indict the President for obstructing justice for three counts of indictment, including the falsification of witnesses. Andrew Weissmann, one of Mr. Mueller's attorneys, who, according to Mr. Wolff, led this effort, did not even work on the obstruction portion of the investigation.

In a note by the author, Mr. Wolff explained that his account of Mr. Mueller's investigation was based on "internal documents that had been given to me by sources close to the Office of the Special Adviser". But in a rare case of recorded denial, Council spokesman Peter Carr said Tuesday that "the documents described do not exist".

Mr. Wolff responded in an interview: "My source is impeccable, and I have no doubt about the authenticity and meaning of the documents."

Criticism of his work puts Mr. Wolff in a familiar position. The White House After the publication of "Fire and Fury", the caller "Trashy tabloid fiction". A Trump lawyer, Charles J. Harder, tried to block his publication and threatened to sue the publisher, Henry Holt & Company, for slander. Mr. Trump posted on Twitter that the book was "full of lies, false statements and non-existent sources".

Copies of "Siege" began circulating before it was released on June 4, and the New York Times got one. But the revelations in the book, reported for the first time Tuesday by The Guardian, did not provoke the storm of coverage on social media and cable television that helped propel sales of the latest book of Mr. Wolff in the stratosphere.

This may reflect both the accuracy issues surrounding "Fire and Fury" and increasing insipacity with the internal stories of the Trump White House. Bob Woodward's best-selling book, "Fear," and other stories, portrays a now-familiar picture of unlucky and complicit collaborators and an impulsive and erratic president, distracted by his legal battles and obsessed with talking heads. on Fox News.

For his first book, Mr. Wolff spent time in the West Wing, often in Mr. Bannon's office. He does not claim to have had similar access this time, noting that many of his original sources have left the White House.

In the note of its author, Mr. Wolff acknowledged that these sources were unreliable. "For the writer," he said, "questioning such sources in the face of Janus creates a dilemma, because it involves depending on those who lie to tell the truth – and who might later disavow the truth that They said. "

Mr. Wolff is open about his confidence in Mr. Bannon, whom he thanks in his thanks, describing him as "the most diligent interpreter of the Trump phenomenon that I know" and "that everyone in Virgil has the chance to have a guide downhill in Trumpworld. "

Even after Mr. Bannon's departure from the White House, Mr. Wolff said he exercised considerable power over the president's program. He helped push Trump to declare a national emergency to secure funding for his border wall. Although he quotes Mr. Bannon as saying that Mr. Trump is "not the billionaire that he said, he was just another fool," he also constantly thought about joining him.

The Mueller Inquiry constitutes the centerpiece of the book and Mr. Wolff offers an unusual glimpse of the grand jury, which has heard testimony under the veil of secrecy for months.

"The great jurors of Mueller were more feminine than masculine," he writes, "whiter than black, older than young; they distinguished themselves above all by their intensity and concentration. "

But the story of the draft indictment by Mr. Wolff contains several puzzling elements. He cited the title of the project as follows: "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA – against – DONALD J. TRUMP, defendant", while the usual formulation would be to use the abbreviation "v." For "versus" Rather than "against". All the indictments retained by the special advocate use "v."

In addition, the purported document indicates that Mr. Trump could be charged under three obstruction of justice laws, known as Sections 1505, 1512 and 1513. of Title 18 of the United States Code.