Donald Trump tells Sessions to shut down Mueller probe; aides quickly play down remarks

David Jackson | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Trump calls for AG Sessions to end Russia investigation 'right now' President Donald Trump is calling for an end to the Russia investigation. Veuer's Sam Berman has the full story.

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump called on Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Wednesday to shut down Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian election interference, but his aides quickly played down the comments and insisted that Trump had no plans to fire the special counsel.

Trump wrote on Twitter that Sessions "should stop this Rigged Witch Hunt right now, before it continues to stain our country any further." He accused Mueller of having a conflict of interest and criticized his staff as "Angry Democrats that are doing his dirty work." He called the investigation a "terrible situation."

Democratic lawmakers seized on Trump's tweet, saying it was a clear effort to thwart justice.

"This is an attempt to obstruct justice hiding in plain sight," tweeted Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee.

The president's lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, said his client "was expressing his opinion on his favored medium" for communicating, not issuing an order to his attorney general.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said Trump made clear that he wanted to see Mueller finish the investigation.

"We'd like to see it completed sooner rather than later," Sanders said.

Mueller is investigating Russian attempts to sway the 2016 election toward Trump and whether anyone from Trump's presidential campaign cooperated with Moscow. He is examining whether there were any attempts to obstruct the investigation.

Congressional Republicans expressed support for having Mueller continue his investigation. Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., said, "Most of us up here believe the process needs to play out, and it will."

Trump's latest tweets about Mueller come at what could be a pivotal point in the investigation. A trial began Tuesday for former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort on financial allegations.

..This is a terrible situation and Attorney General Jeff Sessions should stop this Rigged Witch Hunt right now, before it continues to stain our country any further. Bob Mueller is totally conflicted, and his 17 Angry Democrats that are doing his dirty work are a disgrace to USA! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 1, 2018

The Department of Justice had no comment on Trump's tweets.

Trump spoke out a day after Facebook announced that it detected a covert campaign to influence the midterm elections in November by targeting hot-button social issues. Though the fake pages and accounts used in the influence campaign were not definitively tied to Moscow, the company said the tactics were strikingly similar to Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

The Facebook revelations prompted fresh condemnations of Russian election interference from administration officials, including Vice President Mike Pence, and Democratic and Republican lawmakers.

In the Russia investigation, Mueller seeks testimony from Trump, but the president has refused.

Trump has denounced the investigation as a politically motivated hoax and stepped up his attacks on Mueller.

More: Paul Manafort trial: Prosecutors accuse ex-Trump campaign chief of amassing fortune on foundation of 'lies'

More: Rudy Giuliani says Donald Trump team preparing report to counter Robert Mueller

Even if Sessions was willing to act on Trump's tweet, it's unclear what steps he could take. The attorney general recused himself from the Russia investigation because he played a role in Trump's presidential campaign. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who has also been attacked by Trump, is Mueller's supervisor and has consistently defended the special counsel's work.

Bipartisan legislation that would protect the special counsel passed the Senate Judiciary Committee in April with a 14-7 vote, but the bill has not been taken up by the full Senate.

During a visit to New Hampshire, Giuliani told reporters that he received a letter from Mueller's team this week responding to a Trump proposal on the potential questioning of the president by the special counsel. "We're in the process of responding to their proposal," Giuliani said.

Giuliani, who has advocated written questions restricted to the topic of alleged collusion, declined to detail the talks: "I'm not going to give you a lot of hope it’s going to happen, but we’re still negotiating."

Contributing: Nicole Gaudiano