Trump won't say whether he would fire Mueller, but notes that he's 'still here'

Show Caption Hide Caption Trump: Mueller and Rosenstein 'still here' President Donald Trump is passing up a chance to say whether he will fire special counsel Robert Mueller and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. He says there's been speculation that he would get rid of them but "they're still here." (April 18)

PALM BEACH, Fla. — President Trump said Wednesday he's been transparent and cooperative with the special counsel investigating his campaign's ties to Russia — but wouldn't say whether he would ever fire Robert Mueller or Rod Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general overseeing the probe.

"They've been saying I'm going to get rid of them for the last three months, four months, five months, and they’re still here," Trump said. "So we want to get the investigation over with, done with. Put it behind us."

Repeating a well-worn mantra, Trump said his campaign did not collude with Russia to gain advantage in the 2016 election. He asserted that the GOP-led House Intelligence Committee found no evidence of collusion before voting to end its investigation into Russia last month. And he said the investigation was politically motivated.

"This was really a hoax created largely by the Democrats as a way of softening the blow of a loss," he said.

Trump also reiterated his administration had turned over 1.4 million documents to Mueller’s team, and said the White House had not invoked executive privilege to keep aides from answering questions posed as part of the special counsel’s office probe.

But members of his administration, including Attorney General Jeff Sessions, have declined to answer questions from lawmakers on the grounds that they are preserving the president’s right to invoke executive privilege in the future. Executive privilege is a legal doctrine that allows a president to withhold information from Congress and the courts.

More: In Russia probe, Trump wants executive privilege — but without invoking it

“We are hopefully coming to the end,” Trump said of the investigation. “It is a bad thing for our country.”

The president appeared to make an oblique reference to the raid last week at the office of his personal attorney, Michael Cohen. He framed it in the context of a long-standing claim that the Democratic National Committee did not turn its server over to the FBI after the high-profile hack of its emails.

"The FBI takes what they want," Trump said.

Trump's comments came in a press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe that focused largely on the issues of North Korea and trade.

More: Trump voices hope for North Korea summit but warns he may 'leave the meeting' if not fruitful

At the end of the event, responding to reporters' shouted questions, Trump said he would support additional sanctions on Russia when the country deserves it. The White House pulled back on issuing more sanctions this week after U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley had announced they were forthcoming.

"There has been nobody tougher on Russia than President Donald Trump," he said, citing a military build-up and previous sanctions. "Russia will tell you, there's been nobody tougher."