Acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker has informed GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham that special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election will continue, a report said.

Whitaker made the disclosure to Graham in a meeting as senators have criticized the acting AG for his past statements while seeking to protect the probe from political interference, sources told the Associated Press.

Before working at the Justice Department, Whitaker had penned an op-ed for CNN titled, “Mueller’s investigation of Trump is going too far.”

The Justice Department said earlier this week that Whitaker would consult with ethics officials about “matters that may warrant recusal.”

Graham, a staunch ally of President Trump, has been critical of the probe.

The Senate is expected to hold a vote that aims to protect the investigation, which has ensnared a number of Trump campaign officials.

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and other Democrats have called for Whitaker to recuse himself from overseeing the Mueller investigation.

Trump has called the Mueller probe a politically motivated “witch hunt.”