Deputy attorney general dismisses reports that Donald Trump is considering dismissing Robert Mueller, saying decision would rest with him alone

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

Rod Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general, has hit back following speculation that Donald Trump was considering firing the special counsel Robert Mueller, assuring senators he was aware of “no secret plan” to oust the former FBI director overseeing the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.



Appearing before the Senate appropriations subcommittee on Tuesday, Rosenstein said any decision to fire Mueller would rest with him alone, after the attorney general, Jeff Sessions, recused himself from the Russia investigation. Rosenstein appointed Mueller to head the Russia investigation shortly after the president sacked James Comey as FBI director.

Asked by both Democratic and Republican senators if he had seen any “good reason” to sack Mueller, Rosenstein stated on multiple occasions that he had not.

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“If there were good cause, I would consider it. If there were not good cause, it would not matter to me what anybody said,” Rosenstein told the Democratic senator Jeanne Shaheen.

“There is no secret plan that involves me,” he told Republican James Lankford.

Trump’s allies have begun raising questions about the former FBI director’s impartiality, suggesting he could not be trusted to lead the investigation. There is increasing concern at the White House and among Trump supporters that the investigation could overshadow the president’s agenda for months to come.

Discontent with Mueller also seems to have escalated after Comey, during his evidence to the Senate intelligence committee last week, said he had leaked a story to the New York Times “because I thought that might prompt the appointment of a special counsel”. Mueller was appointed special counsel the next day.

Chris Ruddy, a friend of Trump’s and the chief executive of Newsmax, a US news outlet, went so far as to suggest the president was already thinking about “terminating” Mueller.

“I think he’s considering perhaps terminating the special counsel,” Ruddy said in a TV interview on Monday. “I think he’s weighing that option.”

White House officials later sought to downplay Ruddy’s comments. “Mr Ruddy never spoke to the president regarding this issue,” Sean Spicer, the White House press secretary, said in a statement. “With respect to this subject, only the president or his attorneys are authorized to comment.”

But the former House speaker Newt Gingrich, an informal Trump adviser, added to the speculation on Monday, tweeting: “Republicans are delusional if they think the special counsel is going to be fair. Look who he is hiring.”



In an interview with ABC news on Tuesday morning, Gingrich, who just weeks ago had described Mueller as a “superb choice” to head the investigation, intensified the criticism by labelling the special counsel team “bad people” who were “after Trump”.

He accused some of Mueller’s legal team, many of whom are career prosecutors who have received bipartisan praise in the past, of being partisans due to previous political donations.

Three lawyers on the team have made donations to Democratic campaigns, according to reports; one of those, James Quarles, a former prosecutor on the Watergate investigation, donated to both Democrats and Republicans.

On Tuesday, under questioning from Republican senator Lindsey Graham, Rosenstein said political donations were not a reason for disqualification from the inquiry.

“As a general matter, I think the answer is no,” Rosenstein told Graham, who had asked whether such donations would affect the investigation.

Gingrich had also called on congressional Republicans to lead the charge against Mueller, but the House speaker, Paul Ryan, appeared to pour cold water on the idea on Tuesday.

Ryan told reporters: “The best advice would be to let Robert Mueller do his job.” He added: “I know Bob Mueller. I have confidence in Bob Mueller.”

The talk about dismissing Mueller appeared to be coming from Trump allies – including some close to the White House strategist Steve Bannon – who are increasingly frustrated over the prospect of a long inquiry.

They say Trump did not collude with Russia and see the investigation as a politically motivated sham that handicaps Trump’s ability to execute his agenda, according to one person who is advising the White House on how to handle the investigation.

Ruddy appeared to be basing his remarks, at least in part, on comments from Jay Sekulow, a member of Trump’s legal team, who told ABC in an interview on Sunday that he was “not going to speculate” on whether Trump might at some point order the deputy attorney general, Rod Rosenstein, to fire Mueller.

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“Look, the president of the United States, as we all know, is a unitary executive. But the president is going to seek the advice of his counsel and inside the government as well as outside. And I’m not going to speculate on what he will or will not do,” Sekulow said. Still, he added: “I can’t imagine that that issue is going to arise.”

It was not clear whether Ruddy, who speaks often with the president, was basing his remarks on a specific conversation with the president or entirely on Sekulow’s comments. Ruddy did not immediately respond to questions seeking clarification.

Ruddy was at the White House on Monday to meet White House aides, but did not speak with the president, Spicer said.

The White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said via email: “Chris speaks for himself.”

Peter Carr, a spokesman for Mueller, declined to comment on Ruddy’s remarks.

Under justice department regulations, firing Mueller would have to be done by the deputy attorney general rather than the president, although those regulations could theoretically be set aside.

The attorney general, Jeff Sessions, recused himself from all matters having to do with the Trump-Russia investigation because of his own conversations with Russian officials during the Trump transition.

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