President Trump says he won't fire special counsel Robert Mueller: 'I'm not dismissing anybody'
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Seems like special counsel Robert Mueller is moving ahead with the investigation of possible ties between Russia and the Trump campaign with the impaneling of a grand jury. Veuer’s Maria Mercedes Galuppo (@mariamgaluppo) has more.
Buzz60
BEDMINSTER, N.J. – President Trump said he does not intend to fire special counsel Robert Mueller, whose federal investigation into Russia’s election meddling he frequently denounces as a “witch hunt” or a “hoax.”Â
“I haven’t given it any thought,” Trump told reporters at his golf club in New Jersey, where he’s been on a working vacation. “I’ve been reading about it from you people. You say, ‘Oh, I’m going to dismiss him.’ No, I’m not dismissing anybody.”
Trump said he supports the ongoing Russia investigations, including those taking place on Capitol Hill, where multiple panels are also investigating possible collusion between Trump associates and Russians who sought to influence the 2016 presidential election.
“I want them to get on with the task,” Trump said. “But I also want the Senate and the House to come out with their findings.â€
For weeks, Washington political circles have speculated over whether Trump would remove Mueller or otherwise try to assert greater control of the ongoing federal Russia probe after his highly public attacks on Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
Yet earlier this week, Trump’s chief lawyer indicated the president was looking to cooperate with Mueller. Through his lawyer John Dowd, Trump has sent private messages of “appreciation and greetings” to the special counsel, as USA TODAY first reported on Tuesday.
“He appreciates what Bob Mueller is doing,” Dowd said. “He asked me to share that with him and that’s what I’ve done.”
Firing Mueller, Dowd said, has “never been on the table.”
Trump did not acknowledge his messages to Mueller Thursday, but said the White House is cooperating with his investigation despite what he said was an “unusual” situation.
“We have an investigation of something that never took place. And all I say is work with them, because this is an event that never took place,” he saidÂ
More: President Trump has sent private messages to Russia special counsel Robert Mueller
More: Special counsel Robert Mueller using multiple grand juries in Russia inquiry
Trump’s comments came during the second of two unusually expansive exchanges Thursday with reporters at the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, N.J., and reflected a shift in tone on an investigation that he has denounced as a “witch hunt.”
Trump has said previously that Mueller’s job is not necessary because he hasn’t done anything wrong, and he has accused him of having unspecified conflicts of interest.Â
After Trump publicly attacked Sessions last month for recusing himself in the Russia investigation, lawmakers from both parties have introduced legislation that would require judges to to review any presidential firing, and force the president to provide specific legal reasons for taking such action.Â
Trump cannot fire Mueller directly, but he can fire Sessions. A new attorney general free  from conflicts in the Russia investigation could oust the special counsel.Â
Trump said Thursday that their relationship is “is what it is. It’s fine.â€
None of this debate over his tenure has deterred Mueller, who is now using at least two grand juries — in Virginia and Washington, D.C. — to advance the Russia investigation.
The clearest sign of the investigation’s escalation came Wednesday when a spokesman for Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort confirmed that FBI agents had raided Manafort’s Virginia home last month – a move that “surprised” Trump.
“I thought it was a very, very strong signal, or whatever,” the president said Thursday, adding that he had not spoken with Manafort for some time. “They (the FBI) do that very seldom, so I was surprised to see it. I was very, very surprised to see it.”
Asked whether the pre-dawn raid was appropriate, Trump said: “You’d have to ask them (the FBI). I’ve always found Paul Manafort to be a very decent man. He’s like a lot of other people, probably makes consultant fees from all over the place.
“I thought it was pretty tough stuff to wake him up, perhaps his family was there,” Trump said, referring to the July 26 raid.
The raid, first reported by The Washington Post, targeted financial records and other materials as part of Mueller’s wide-ranging inquiry. Manafort’s dealings on behalf of pro-Russia interests in Ukraine has been a long-running focus of federal authorities.
Trump, however, appeared to suggest that others drawing investigative interest may have merely overlooked requirements to document their work as foreign agents, as required by the government.
“Did they do something wrong because they didn’t file the right document or whatever?” Trump said. “Perhaps, you’d have to look at them, but there are probably a lot of people in Washington who have done the same thing.â€
That comment appeared to address situations like former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn or son-in-law Jared Kushner, who have reportedly failed to disclose interactions with Russian officials on ethics and security clearance forms.Â
– Kevin Johnson and David Jackson contributed from Washington and Nicholas Pugliese of the Bergen Record contributed from Bedminster, N.J.
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