WaPo drops an anonymously-sourced bombshell on Trump's birthday

In the latest of a string of anonymously sourced stories meant to damage President Donald Trump, the Washington Post says five sources are confirming that the president is under investigation for obstruction of justice. The story was published Wednesday, just in time for the president's 71st birthday.

The official Washington Post Twitter account got a lot of attention when the story broke.

Officials told the Washington Post that special counsel Robert Mueller was now looking into whether  Trump committed obstruction of justice, one of the most disputed claims debated during former FBI Director James Comey's testimony.

While it remained true that the president had not been under investigation when Comey told him, and as he later pronounced on his Twitter account after firing Comey, the Post reported that the investigation opened soon after the firing.

A spokesman for Trump's personal lawyer responded to the report but didn't deny it. “The FBI leak of information regarding the president is outrageous, inexcusable and illegal," he said.

Five people briefed on the requests, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly, said Daniel Coats, the current director of national intelligence, Adm. Mike Rogers, head of the National Security Agency, and Rogers’ recently departed deputy, Richard Ledgett, agreed to be interviewed by Mueller’s investigators as early as this week.

There were reports that the president was considering firing Mueller as well, but although many of Trump's allies have provided reasons why he might want to do it, so far the White House has batted down those suggestions.