Trump said Rosenstein was playing both sides in Trump’s decision to fire Comey by recommending the firing but then appointing Mueller as special counsel. Trump went on to say Mueller’s office had several conflicts of interest, including Rosenstein. Look, this is about Russia,” Trump told the Times. The president appeared to threaten Mueller in a New York Times interview, saying that he would be crossing a red line if he probed his family’s financial history. You are witnessing the single greatest WITCH HUNT in American political history – led by some very bad and conflicted people! #MAGA They made up a phony collusion with the Russians story, found zero proof, so now they go for obstruction of justice on the phony story.
Trump slammed the federal probe after the report was published, calling it the “greatest witch hunt in American political history.” The report came after Comey told the Senate Intelligence Committee that the president directed him in February to end the FBI’s investigation into Flynn. The Washington Post reported that Mueller was investigating Trump for obstruction of justice. However, speculation about whether Trump would attempt such a move has continued to swirl following every reported step in Mueller’s investigation. Republicans called on Trump not to fire Mueller, saying the move would embroil the administration in even more controversy. “While the president has the right to, he has no intention to do so,” spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said.
While some of Trump’s most prominent allies, including former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, raised questions about the fairness of the Mueller probe, the White House said the president had “no intention” of firing Mueller. Speculation immediately began to swirl around whether Trump would take the controversial step of firing Mueller. Trump fired Comey in May for his handling of the federal probe into Hillary Clinton’s emails, however, Trump later told NBC News that he had Russia on his mind when he fired the FBI director. Trump was reportedly concerned about Comey looking into his former national security adviser Michael Flynn - a request that Comey reportedly documented in a memo currently being sought by Congress - who has become a key figure in the investigation due to conversations with a Russian ambassador. While the FBI opened its investigation into Trump campaign ties to Russia in July 2016, the probe has been under the direction of Mueller since May.ĭeputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein announced the appointment of Robert Mueller as special counsel to probe Russia’s involvement in the 2016 presidential election.Ĭalls had intensified for a special counsel to be appointed after reports that Trump had urged former FBI Director James Comey to “let go” of the investigation. The order establishing the special counsel gave Mueller authorization to investigate any issue that “arose or may arise directly from the investigation.” News that a grand jury in Washington, D.C., has approved charges that will be public as of Monday represents a turning point in the federal probe into Moscow’s election interference. Special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into possible ties between the Trump campaign and Russia appears to be entering a new phase.
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