Rep. Jackie Speier: Rumor has it Trump will fire Mueller before Christmas

WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 15: Rep. Jackie Speier (R) (D-CA) speaks at a press conference in Congress on November 15, 2017 in Washington, DC. Click through the gallery to see portions of the indictment against former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort. less WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 15: Rep. Jackie Speier (R) (D-CA) speaks at a press conference in Congress on November 15, 2017 in Washington, DC. Click through the gallery to see portions of the indictment against ... more Photo: Win McNamee, Getty Images Photo: Win McNamee, Getty Images Image 1 of / 18 Caption Close Rep. Jackie Speier: Rumor has it Trump will fire Mueller before Christmas 1 / 18 Back to Gallery

Rep. Jackie Speier said Friday in an interview with KQED Newsroom that a rumor is going around Capitol Hill alleging Trump plans to fire special counsel Robert Mueller before Christmas.

"The rumor on the Hill when I left yesterday was that the president was going to make a significant speech at the end of next week," Speier told KQED."And on Dec. 22, when we are out of D.C., he was going to fire Robert Mueller."

The House and Senate were last in session Thursday, and will not reconvene until Jan. 3, 2018, according to the House and Senate calendars.

White House special counsel Ty Cobb told CNN Saturday that no such plans exist.

"As the White House has consistently said for months, there is no consideration of firing the special counsel," Cobb said in a statement.

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Meanwhile, a lawyer for the Trump transition team sent a letter to Congress Saturday alleging Mueller improperly obtained emails as part of the Russia probe that should have remained confidential, Fox News reported.

The letter alleges the General Services Administration handed over tens of thousands of emails —records it "did not own or control," the letter says — to the special counsel's office, according to Fox. The GSA is a government agency that provided the transition team with office space and hosted its email servers.

Rep. Eric Swalwell, whose district covers most of eastern Alameda County, called the criticisms of the investigation "baloney."

"'Private documents' on a US Government, public email system? What are they afraid was found?" Swalwell wrote on Twitter. "This is another attempt to discredit Mueller as his #TrumpRussia probe tightens."

Despite Cobb's denial that any plans to fire Mueller are under consideration, several Democrats from California's congressional delegation voiced concerns about the possibility on Twitter Friday and Saturday.

"The attacks on Mueller, DOJ and FBI this week make it clear they plan to go after Mueller's investigation," Rep. Adam Schiff, the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee wrote on Twitter Friday. "Aggressively and soon."

Filipa Ioannou is an SFGATE staff writer. Email her at fioannou@sfchronicle.com and follow her on Twitter.