Asked whether he agreed with the opinion of former White House lawyers who have praised Robert Mueller as an honorable independent investigator, Jay Sekulow conceded that “I think that Robert Mueller did the job he was assigned to do.” | Cliff Owen/AP Photo The Mueller Report Trump lawyers take shots at Mueller after he wraps up probe

Members of President Donald Trump's legal team on Monday called Robert Mueller an "honest" and "professional" man — but also took shots at the special counsel's probe — one day after Attorney General William Barr announced in a letter to Congress that the special counsel found no Russia collusion or clear evidence of obstruction.

"He deserved every bit of criticism he got," Rudy Giuliani said on "Fox and Friends." "I mean, look, the fact that he couldn't find evidence is a testament to the fact that he is an honest man."


"He’s not going to make it up," the president's personal lawyer said of Mueller on Monday. "But, boy, did he try. And boy, did he have some people that did things that as a prosecutor for almost 20 years shocked me."

Giuliani criticized Mueller, in particular, for the solitary confinement of Paul Manafort, the former chairman of the Trump campaign convicted of financial fraud and witness tampering.

Giuliani's comments were echoes of those of Trump attorney Jay Sekulow, who earlier Monday said though Mueller's investigation was honorable, "because it was a great conclusion," the probe was not without "hiccups."

In an interview on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” Sekulow said that Barr’s letter to Congress Sunday was a victory for the president and that he expects much of Mueller’s final report to be made public “sooner rather than later.”

But while Sekulow acknowledged “it’s very hard to complain” about the outcome of Mueller’s investigation, which at one point appeared to be closing in on Trump’s inner circle of advisers and family members, he was quick to slam the probe and the commotion it created.

“You say it's over and you say it's honorable because it was a great conclusion, but the country went through a two-year period, and there were a lot of hiccups during this process,” he told co-hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski. “I don't have to relay all of them, Joe and Mika, but the fact is you can look at some of this stuff and it looks like it's out of a movie.”

Asked whether he agreed with the opinion of former White House lawyers who have praised Mueller as an honorable independent investigator, Sekulow conceded that “I think that Robert Mueller did the job he was assigned to do.”

“He did it as a professional, and I am pleased with the result. I am not going to get into whether I think particular actions they took along the way were right or appropriate because I think some of those were way over the top, quite frankly, but at the end of the day, and you know this, you're a lawyer, Joe, you go with the evidence and the verdict you got,” he added.

Sekulow also offered praise for the relatively speedy work of Barr, whose summation of Mueller’s report was sent to Congress 48 hours after the attorney general received it from the special counsel. With Mueller's investigation concluded, much of the public attention devoted to the probe has shifted to Barr, who has control over how much of the report — if any — will be made public.

“I don't think any of us can complain, the speed at which they were able to get something to the American people and the Congress and to the media and that's been helpful and why we're here today,” he said, predicting an “expeditious process” of reviewing the full report and determining what will be made public.

“There's a process and steps that have to go forward but I suspect that he will make as much of it public as possible, and it will be sooner rather than later,” he added.

Both Sekulow and Giuliani also ripped congressional Democrats for their pledges to continue investigating the president following the attorney general’s disclosure that Mueller left the question of whether Trump obstructed justice up to Barr and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who have declined to pursue charges.

In an interview on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” Sekulow recounted the massive trove of evidence Barr’s Sunday letter said Mueller obtained in the probe, suggesting Congress would be unable to unearth any additional evidence.

“I think the reality is that Congress is wasting the taxpayers' money frankly and they should be going about legislating and governing rather than continuing this that is a prerogative they have,” he said. “I think at this point it’s ridiculous to put people through this.”

Giuliani, on "Fox and Friends," called for Democrats to apologize.

"You would think they would have the decency to say, 'I was wrong. I made a mistake,'" Giuliani said. "Even if they want to move on now to this other stuff they are going to look at and just embarrass themselves, at least stop and say, 'I was wrong.' They should also be happy for the country."

Katie Galioto contributed to this report.