Rudy Giuliani’s call for Mueller to be suspended represents a major turning point for the Trump lawyer. | Evan Vucci/AP Photo Giuliani: Mueller probe should be suspended 'tomorrow'

President Donald Trump's attorney Rudy Giuliani said Thursday evening that special counsel Robert Mueller's probe should be suspended and Friday is the last chance for Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to "redeem themselves."

"I believe that Rod Rosenstein and Jeff Sessions have a chance to redeem themselves and that chance comes about tomorrow," Giuliani told Fox News host Sean Hannity.


Holding up a copy of the Justice Department's Office of the Inspector General report, Giuliani argued that Mueller's probe must cease so top FBI officials named in the report can be investigated.

The report, compiled by DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz and his staff, found that the FBI's handling of the investigation into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server was not affected by political bias. However, multiple agency officials, including former FBI Director James Comey, made decisions that went against department norms and others, like agent Peter Strzok, made inappropriate comments critical of then-candidate Trump.

"Tomorrow, Mueller should be suspended and honest people should be brought in, impartial people to investigate these people like Strzok," Giuliani continued. "Strzok should be in jail by the end of next week."

Giuliani’s call for Mueller to be suspended represents a major turning point for the Trump lawyer. Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a White House event at the end of May, Giuliani said he didn’t think the special counsel job was in jeopardy. “I don’t think he’s going to fire Mueller. Mueller is creating his own problems,” Giuliani said.

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Giuliani’s suggestion, if implemented, would likely spark perhaps the biggest political clash of Trump’s presidency. Trump has long been warned against firing Mueller by both senior Republicans and Democrats in Congress. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in mid-April that a possible Trump firing of either Mueller or Rosenstein would likely lead to calls for the president’s impeachment. Likewise, Sen. Lindsey Graham, an occasional Trump ally, said last summer and again this March that Mueller’s ouster if it came without cause “would be the beginning of the end of his presidency.”

Rosenstein oversees the special counsel's investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election, following Sessions' decision to recuse himself.

It's not the first time a Trump attorney has taken the position that the Mueller probe would end. While serving as one of the president’s personal lawyers in mid-March, John Dowd called for Rosenstein to shutter the investigation.

One instance of critical comments of the president in the report is a text message between Strzok and FBI attorney Lisa Page. During their exchange, Strzok appeared to suggest that he could take actions that would hurt Trump's chances of winning the 2016 election.

Trump's "not ever going to become president, right? Right?!" FBI attorney Lisa Page asked via text on August 8, 2016.

"No. No he won't. We'll stop it," replied Strzok, who served in senior roles in both the Clinton probe and the investigation into the Trump campaign ties to Russia. Strzok was reassigned from the Mueller investigation in mid-2017.