Robert Mueller selects veteran Justice Department spokesman Peter Carr to handle media inquiries related to the investigation. | AP Photo Trump-Russia special prosecutor Mueller taps spokesman

Trump-Russia special prosecutor Robert Mueller has selected veteran Justice Department spokesman Peter Carr to handle media inquiries related to the high-profile investigation, officials said Friday.

Carr has worked at Justice Department headquarters since 2013 as the top spokesman for the Criminal Division. He also did a stint recently as the acting director of public affairs while Obama appointees were cycling out and Trump picks were cycling in.


Previously, Carr was the spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Eastern District of Virginia, which has offices in Alexandria and further south in Richmond, Norfolk and Newport News.

From 2002 to 2007, Carr also served as a spokesman for Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), including during one of his reelection campaigns.

Last week, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein named former FBI Director Mueller as a "special counsel" under department regulations, charged with taking over ongoing investigations into alleged Russian attempts to influence the 2016 presidential election, including any coordination between the Trump campaign and Russian officials.

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Justice Department officials confirmed this week that Mueller has begun working out of leased office space in a building near D.C. Superior Court in Northwest Washington.

"The special counsel’s office is up and running now,” Assistant Attorney General for Administration Lee Lofthus told reporters at a budget briefing Tuesday. He said he had no additional details about Mueller's plans for staffing or structuring his operation.