Washington - US President Donald Trump said Thursday that if he
wanted to fire special counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating
alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 US elections, he would have done
it months back.
"If I wanted to fire Robert Mueller in December, as reported by the
Failing New York Times, I would have fired him," Trump tweeted. "Just
more Fake News from a biased newspaper," he wrote in a reference to a
Tuesday report.
US media have speculated for months that Trump would like to fire
Mueller, whose investigation has looked into alleged misdeeds by
people in Trump's presidential campaign.
Mueller's special prosecution was enabled a year ago by Deputy
Attorney General Rod Rosenstein after Trump sacked then FBI director
James Comey, reportedly because Comey refused to pledge loyalty to
the president.
If I wanted to fire Robert Mueller in December, as reported by the Failing New York Times, I would have fired him. Just more Fake News from a biased newspaper!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 12, 2018
Trump tweeted later Thursday that he agreed with the "historically
cooperative, disciplined approach" that he said his administration
had had with Mueller. He added that he had full confidence in Ty
Cobb, his lawyer, and "have been fully advised throughout each phase
of this process."
Mueller's investigation has so far seen former Trump's national
security advisor Michael Flynn plead guilty to making false
statements, won an indictment against campaign official Paul Manafort
for money laundering, and overseen a case that led to a guilty plea
by Rick Gates, another campaign official for conspiracy.
This week, FBI agents raided the offices of Trump's personal lawyer,
Michael Cohen, reportedly while searching for documents related to
alleged affairs the president had. The tip that led to the raid
allegedly came from the Mueller investigation.
On Wednesday, a Trump spokeswoman said the president believes he has
the power to fire Mueller. Additionally, in recent days, Trump has
routinely referred to the investigation as "conflicted,"
"corrupt," "a total witch hunt," and the raid on Cohen's office as
"unthinkable."