Trump allies turn on special counsel Mueller
‘Time to rethink,’ Gingrich tweets
WASHINGTON — Highprofile supporters of President Donald Trump are turning on special counsel Robert Mueller, charged with investigating Russian interference in the U.S. election and possible collusion with Trump’s campaign.
As Mueller builds his legal team, Trump’s allies have begun raising questions about the former FBI director’s impartiality, suggesting he cannot be trusted to lead the probe. The comments come amid increasing frustration at the White House and among Trump supporters that the investigation will overshadow the president’s agenda for months to come — a prospect that has Democrats salivating.
Trump friend Chris Ruddy, CEO of Newsmax, went so far as to suggest the president was already thinking about “terminating” Mueller.
“I think he’s considering perhaps terminating the special counsel,” Ruddy said in an interview with Judy Woodruff of “PBS NewsHour.”
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, an informal Trump adviser, tweeted Monday, “Republicans are delusional if they think the special counsel is going to be fair. Look who he is hiring.” Just weeks ago, Gingrich had heaped praise on Mueller, hailing him as a “superb choice” for special counsel whose reputation was “impeccable for honesty and integrity.”
But after the testimony of former FBI Director James Comey last week, Gingrich said he’d changed his mind.
“Time to rethink,” he tweeted Monday, citing Mueller’s hiring decisions and Comey’s admission that he’d instructed a friend to share with reporters notes he’d taken of his private conversations with Trump in order to force the appointment of special counsel.
Conservative commentator Ann Coulter offered a similar message, tweeting, “Now that we know TRUMP IS NOT UNDER INVESTIGATION, Sessions should take it back & fire Mueller.”
The talk about dismissing Mueller appeared to be coming from Trump allies who are increasingly frustrated with the prospect of a long and winding probe.
They see the investigation as a politically motivated sham that handicaps Trump’s ability to execute his agenda, according to one person who advises the White House on how to handle the probe.
Ruddy appeared to be basing his remarks, at least in part, on comments from Jay Sekulow, a member of Trump’s legal team, who told ABC in an interview Sunday that he was “not going to speculate” on whether Trump might at some point order Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to fire Mueller.