President Donald Trump has no intention to fire Robert Mueller as special counsel leading the Russia investigation, the White House said Tuesday.
“While the president has the right to, he has no intention to do so”, White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said.
Republicans on Capitol Hill have called on Trump not todismiss Mueller after a close friend of the President, Christopher Ruddy, said in interviews this week, that Trump was considering firing the special counsel investigating possible ties between his campaign and Moscow.
Mueller was appointed by theJustice Department to helm the investigation after Trump fired Comey, who was the one previously leading the Russia probe, in early May.
Mueller’s hiring was meant to ensure the probe would be conducted without interference. Firing him would breathe new life into accusations that Trump was trying to interfere in the probe, The Hill reports.
Some Trump allies began criticizing the investigation led by Mueller, who served as director of the FBI under former PresidentsGeorge W. Bush and Barack Obama and who is widely respected among both Republican and Democratic lawmakers.
Former Speaker Newt Gingrich raised questions about the fairness of the Mueller-led probe, noting that at least four members of Mueller’s team had donated to Democratic presidential campaigns and groups, saying it’s “time to rethink” Mueller’s role.
According to a new report though, Trump was considering firing Robert Mueller as special counsel leading the investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election but was talked down by top aides. The New York Times reported Tuesday that Trump was angered by reports that Mueller was close to fired FBI Director James Comey and entertained the idea of firing the special counsel.
Sources told The Times that staff worked to talk Trump out of firing Mueller, what they viewed would have been a disastrous decision for the administration. According to the report, Trump has told staff, visitors and advisers over the last week that he thought Mueller was part of a “witch hunt” against him.
White House sources told The New York Times that Trump is hard to predict, and they cannot be sure he won’t fire Mueller. Others who had spoken with Trump Tuesday said that the President’s ambiguity on Mueller was intentional and that the possibility of being fired would help keep Mueller in line.
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