Former independent counsel Ken Starr said there would be "hell to pay" politically for President Trump Donald John TrumpBiden on Trump's refusal to commit to peaceful transfer of power: 'What country are we in?' Romney: 'Unthinkable and unacceptable' to not commit to peaceful transition of power Two Louisville police officers shot amid Breonna Taylor grand jury protests MORE if he were to fire Attorney General Jeff Sessions Jefferson (Jeff) Beauregard SessionsGOP set to release controversial Biden report Trump's policies on refugees are as simple as ABCs Ocasio-Cortez, Velázquez call for convention to decide Puerto Rico status MORE and the special counsel in charge of the Russia investigation, Robert Mueller Robert (Bob) MuellerCNN's Toobin warns McCabe is in 'perilous condition' with emboldened Trump CNN anchor rips Trump over Stone while evoking Clinton-Lynch tarmac meeting The Hill's 12:30 Report: New Hampshire fallout MORE.

Asked by Bloomberg News anchor David Westin on Friday why Trump has not yet fired Sessions, who Westin notes serves "at the pleasure of the president," Starr predicted the president would face difficulties attempting to appoint Sessions's replacement.

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“I think that there would be hell to pay if the president fired Mueller or ordered the firing of Bob Mueller,” Starr said in the interview.

"Jeff Sessions I think is an honorable person who recused himself, so I think obviously the president has that prerogative, but it would be very hard to get a new attorney general confirmed," he continued. "We would have Rod Rosenstein Rod RosensteinDOJ kept investigators from completing probe of Trump ties to Russia: report Five takeaways from final Senate Intel Russia report FBI officials hid copies of Russia probe documents fearing Trump interference: book MORE as the acting attorney general of the United States indefinitely."

Starr served on the 1998 Republican-led investigation of former President Clinton, who was eventually impeached by the House but not convicted by the Senate on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice.

Speculation has grown over whether Trump will fire Sessions or Mueller in recent weeks as Trump's tone on Twitter increasingly turned towards direct calls for the investigation to be ended by Sessions.

"Attorney General Jeff Sessions should stop this Rigged Witch Hunt right now, before it continues to stain our country any further," Trump tweeted in early August.

The president has also frequently attacked Mueller and the FBI investigators working with the special counsel's office, whom he frequently refers to as "angry Democrats."

"Bob Mueller is totally conflicted, and his 17 Angry Democrats that are doing his dirty work are a disgrace to USA!" he added in the same tweet.

Mueller's probe reached a milestone this week after prosecutors reached a plea agreement with Paul Manafort Paul John ManafortOur Constitution is under attack by Attorney General William Barr Bannon trial date set in alleged border wall scam Conspicuous by their absence from the Republican Convention MORE, the president's former campaign chairman, sparing him from a second trial previously set to begin this month.