Ryan: I’ve ‘received assurances’ Mueller won’t be fired

Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) said he has received “assurances” that Robert Mueller won’t be fired, as questions swirl around whether President Trump will pull the plug on the special counsel.

“I received assurances that his firing is not even under consideration,” Ryan told reporters during his weekly news conference on Tuesday. “We have a system based upon the rule of law in this country, we have a justice system, and no one is above that justice system.”

While the White House insists that Mueller’s ouster is not in play, Trump has made a series of moves in the past week that have stepped up concern in Washington that he may move to fire Mueller and end the special counsel’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election and possible ties to the Trump campaign.

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The president ramped up his attacks on the Russia probe over the weekend, even calling out Mueller by name for the first time; he hired a longtime Washington lawyer who has suggested that the FBI is seeking to frame Trump; and Attorney General Jeff Sessions fired Andrew McCabe, the No. 2 official at the FBI and a longtime target of Trump. 

Many Republicans see Mueller’s ouster as a huge political risk, but GOP leaders have not called for legislation protecting the special counsel.

Ryan has insisted that Mueller should be able to complete his investigation and expressed confidence that he will be able to do so.

“The special counsel should be free to follow through his investigation to its completion without interference, absolutely,” Ryan said. “I am confident that he will be able to do that.”