President Donald Trump has “no intention” of firing Robert Mueller as special counsel leading the Russia probe despite doubts about his objectivity, the White House said Friday, according to The Hill.
“Nothing’s changed on that in terms of his position,” White House press secretary Sean Spicer was quoted as having told reporters at an off-camera briefing.
Mueller was appointed last month by the Justice Department as special counsel to oversee the federal investigation into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election.
His appointment was announced after Attorney General Jeff Sessions previously recused himself from any involvement in the Russia investigation due to his role as a prominent campaign adviser and surrogate.
Spicer’s comments came after Trump appeared to leave the door open to removing Mueller in a new Fox News interview, in which he pointed out that Mueller is “very, very good friends” with his successor, James Comey, whom Trump fired.
Trump called their friendship “very bothersome.” Asked if Mueller should step aside, Trump said, “We’ll have to see.”
Trump argued that Mueller has hired "Hillary Clinton supporters" and people who worked for Clinton's 2016 White House bid to work on his investigation, a situation he called “ridiculous.”
Recent reports indicated that Mueller was examining whether Trump attempted to obstruct justice.
Trump’s attorney later said that the President has not been informed that he is under investigation.
(Arutz Sheva’s North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)