Trump has ‘no intentions’ of firing Mueller, White House says

by Jordan Fabian - 12/21/17 11:20 AM ET

President Trump has no intention of firing Robert Mueller as special counsel overseeing the Russia investigation, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Thursday.

“For the one-thousandth time, we have no intentions of firing Bob Mueller,” Sanders said on Fox News.

But Sanders also questioned the legitimacy of the Russia probe and said Congress should look into allegations of wrongdoing under the Obama administration.

“We’re continuing to work closely and cooperating with him and we look forward to seeing this hoax wrap up very soon,” she added.

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The White House is seeking to tamp down speculation the president could get rid of Mueller in an attempt to foil the sprawling investigation into Moscow’s ties to the Trump campaign.

At the same time, Trump’s GOP allies are attacking Mueller’s team, a move some in Washington say is intended to undermine the special counsel’s findings.

But others, especially Democrats in Congress, are concerned Republicans are building a case to fire Mueller.

Sen. Mark Warner (Va.), the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, warned Trump on Wednesday not to interfere with the special counsel’s probe.

“Any attempt by this president to remove special counsel Mueller from his position, or to pardon key witnesses in an effort to shield them from accountability or shut down the investigation, would be a gross abuse of power and a flagrant violation of executive branch responsibilities and authorities,” Warner said in a floor speech.

Sanders called the senator’s remarks further evidence that “Democrats have no plan, they have no agenda, they have nothing to talk to other than attacking this president.”

Republicans have ramped up their criticism in recent days on Mueller’s team of investigators, accusing them of political bias.

They have seized on anti-Trump texts allegedly sent by a top FBI agent working on the Russia probe. The agent, Peter Strzok, was reassigned over the summer once the texts were discovered.

The FBI and Justice Department have also come under attack from Republicans for their handling of a dossier full of sordid allegations against Trump as well as the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server during her time as secretary of State.

“It’s something that certainly that should be looked at,” Sanders said.

Tags Donald Trump Donald Trump Fox News Hillary Clinton Mark Warner Robert Mueller Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections Special Counsel investigation