President Trump’s personal lawyer John Dowd praised special counsel Robert Mueller on Friday after Mueller’s office announced indictments targeting 13 Russian nationals for allegedly conspiring to interfere in the 2016 election.
Dowd told The Daily Beast that Mueller’s team did “a hell of a job,” adding that he believed the special counsel “found the culprits” behind Russian efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election.
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“I think the special counsel found the culprits. I think he did a good job. I think he did a hell of a job,” Dowd said, adding that the indictment “speaks for itself.”
Dowd added that he believed Trump was pleased with the developments in Mueller’s investigation, which has also launched indictments against four people connected to the president’s campaign in previous months.
“I’m sure [Trump] is happy,” Dowd said. “We’ve had a lot of faith in Bob Mueller and his team and it makes you feel good when they do a good job. They got these bastards who tried to hurt the country.”
Mueller’s team described its findings implicating 13 Russian nationals Friday in an indictment that detailed a sophisticated effort to target Americans and influence public opinion through social media, political advertisements and in-person events.
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said at a press conference that the indictment “serves as a reminder that people are not always who they appear to be on the Internet.”
“The indictment alleges that the Russian conspirators want to promote discord in the United States and undermine public confidence in democracy,” Rosenstein said.
Trump himself said Friday that the latest development in the Mueller investigation proved that his campaign was not involved in collusion with the Russians.
“Russia started their anti-US campaign in 2014, long before I announced that I would run for president,” Trump tweeted. “The results of the election were not impacted. The Trump campaign did nothing wrong — no collusion!”