Speaker Paul Ryan Paul Davis RyanAt indoor rally, Pence says election runs through Wisconsin Juan Williams: Breaking down the debates Peterson faces fight of his career in deep-red Minnesota district MORE (R-Wis.) on Thursday said the appointment of a special counsel to probe Russian election meddling will not interfere with ongoing investigations being conducted by lawmakers.

“I believe that the professionals at the Justice Department need to do their jobs independently, objectively and thoroughly, and I believe the special counsel helps them do that,” Ryan told reporters at his weekly news conference.

Asked if former FBI Director Robert Mueller’s probe would “interfere” with the investigations by the House and Senate Intelligence committees, Ryan replied: “No, it doesn’t actually.”

“We are going to keep these investigations going here as I’ve always said. I think the Intelligence committees are the right place to do that,” the Speaker said.

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“This is an investigation involving Russia, another country, interfering in our elections. The Intelligence Committee, in my opinion, is the best place for that.”

Ryan was briefed by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein Wednesday night at the Capitol, but the Speaker didn’t disclose what was discussed.

At one point in the news conference, Ryan appeared caught off-guard when a Fox News reporter asked him to comment about some GOP lawmakers suggesting they would prefer Vice President Pence as president.

“I’m not even going to give credence to that. I’m not even going to comment on that,” Ryan said. “There’s not even a point of making a comment on that.”