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Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe told a House appropriations subcommittee that the FBI is giving special counsel Robert Mueller all the help he needs. | AP Photo McCabe: FBI has 'great number of folks' working for Trump-Russia special prosecutor

The acting head of the FBI said Wednesday that his agency is providing a substantial number of personnel to support the special prosecutor appointed last month to look into alleged Russian influence in the 2016 presidential election, including possible connections to the Trump campaign.

Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe, who took over after President Donald Trump fired FBI chief James Comey on May 9, told a House appropriations subcommittee that the FBI is giving special counsel Robert Mueller all the help he needs.

"We have a great number of folks that have already been detailed to that team and I have assured Director Mueller that we will do everything necessary to deliver the resources and meet the needs that he has to do that work," McCabe said.

Spokespeople for the FBI did not immediately respond to requests for further details on the staffing. A spokesman for Mueller declined to comment beyond saying that a budget is in the works. However, Mueller's office said last week that he'd added 13 lawyers to his staff with more expected to join soon. There has been no similar estimate for support personnel.

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McCabe, temporarily elevated from the position of deputy FBI director, said discussions to coordinate the FBI's assistance to Mueller are ongoing.

"I've had many, many interactions with the special counsel and his representatives. In fact, we are meeting in the next 24 hours to discuss exactly that," McCabe said.

The FBI official stressed that Mueller isn't taking over all the FBI's counterintelligence work, or even all such work related to Russia.

"The FBI continues to maintain responsibility for counterintelligence issues write large against all of our foreign adversaries. We still do work in the Russia counterintelligence space but we’re careful to leave for the special counsel what is the special counsel’s," McCabe said.

McCabe generally resisted efforts by Democrats to draw him out on issues relating to Comey's firing, including Comey's claim that Trump repeatedly attempted to engage him in inappropriate conversations about the Russia probe. The acting FBI chief said he'd never felt any of his conversations with the president were inappropriate, but they were in group settings and cleared by the Justice Department.

"I have talked to the deputy attorney general about that. Any contact that I have would be approved by the deputy attorney general first," McCabe said.

Rep. Jose Serrano (D-N.Y.) asked McCabe whether he'd been asked for a loyalty oath by Trump, as Comey has said he was, and how he would reply.

"I have taken an oath already to the United States of America to protect and defend the Constitution. That is the only oath I will take, so that's really not an issue for me," McCabe said. He added that it wouldn't be appropriate "in this forum" to discuss his conversations with the president.

As in past testimony, McCabe did dispute claims by Trump and other officials that morale at the FBI suffered under Comey.

"Director Comey enjoyed a great relationship with the men and women of the FBI. So, his removal took many many people by surprise. It was a shock. It's something that we’ve all had to come to terms with," McCabe said.

"We understand it is the president's privilege to remove the FBI director or any appointee, whenever he chooses to do so. ... It's been my challenge to keep people focused on the mission during this time of transition."