Gingrich: Mueller has hired ‘bad people’

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) said Monday he is wary of special counsel Robert Mueller’s team because he can’t trust “somebody who can only hire Democrats,” adding that they are “bad people.”

“In this kind of environment, I don’t give the benefit of the doubt to somebody who can only hire Democrats, but claims that we ought to trust him,” Gingrich said on “CBS This Morning.”

WATCH: @NewtGingrich says she spoke with President Trump last night about Mueller pic.twitter.com/KsrnROqYCZ

— CBS This Morning (@CBSThisMorning) June 13, 2017

“These are bad people,” Gingrich said on “Good Morning America.” These are people who are going to be after Trump. He did not hire a single Republican in the first wave.” 

{mosads}Gingrich initially praised the choice of Mueller as a special counsel to investigate Russia’s involvement in the election, including possible links to Trump’s campaign.

But this week he turned against Mueller, and he said President Trump called him on Monday night to talk about his concerns.

“He called me because I’ve been very clear about the fact that Mueller hiring four Democrats — his first four attorneys are all Democrats. One of them worked for the Clinton Foundation,” Gingrich said on CBS, adding that it is a “mistake to think this is going to be some neutral investigation.” 

Mueller was named special counsel a week after Trump fired FBI Director James Comey, who had been handling the Russian probe. Comey last week told a Senate panel that Trump had lied about the FBI, and he said he believes he was directed to end a separate probe into former national security adviser Michael Flynn. 

Comey and Mueller are seen as allies by some in Washington given their work in the Bush administration, when Mueller as FBI director backed up Comey, who then served in the Justice Department, over an internal fight involving a domestic surveillance program.

Gingrich said Trump is “pretty confident” that the Russia investigation will go away. 

“I think the president is actually pretty confident that ultimately this is all going to come out in the wash and ultimately he’s still going to be president. And this stuff is all going to go away.”

The former Speaker questioned Monday Mueller’s ability to be impartial and fair in his investigation because of who he has hired.

“Republicans are delusional if they think the special counsel is going to be fair. Look who he is hiring.check [Federal Election Commission] reports. Time to rethink,” Gingrich tweeted about Mueller.