Preet Bharara, a former U.S. attorney who was fired by President Trump, called a report Wednesday of the president sending special counsel Robert Mueller messages "peculiar."

"This is peculiar. It would be more helpful if he stopped undermining Mueller publicly and fomenting attacks on him by surrogates like Newt," Bharara tweeted, referring to former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.), a staunch Trump supporter.

This is peculiar. It would be more helpful if he stopped undermining Mueller publicly and fomenting attacks on him by surrogates like Newt. https://t.co/saCWiGJZ1f — Preet Bharara (@PreetBharara) August 8, 2017

Bharara shared an NBC News tweet that said Trump had reportedly sent "greetings" to Mueller.

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Trump's chief counsel, John Dowd, told USA Today on Tuesday that he was relaying the president's appreciation to Mueller, who is leading the federal probe into ties between the Trump campaign and Russia to influence the presidential election.

"He appreciates what Bob Mueller is doing," Dowd said. "He asked me to share that with him and that's what I've done."

“The president has sent messages back and forth," Dowd added.

“We get along well with Bob Mueller; our communications have been constructive,’’ Dowd told USA Today. “But it is important that our communications remain confidential. It’s important that there not be any breakdown in that trust.’’

The president has publicly slammed Mueller's investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 election, which includes looking into whether the Trump campaign colluded with the Kremlin. Trump has called the probe a "witch hunt," saying it has left a "cloud" over his administration.

Bharara was one of the dozens of U.S. attorneys appointed by former President Obama that the Trump administration asked to resign earlier this year, and he has since become a vocal critic of Trump.