The special counsel appointed to probe alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 USA presidential polls is now also investigating President Donald Trump for possible obstruction of justice, according to a media report. However, officials told the paper that the situation changed shortly after Comey's abrupt firing.
While none were involved with Trump's campaign, where much of the Russian Federation investigation had appeared to be focused, recent media reports indicated Trump may have requested their help to try to get former FBI Director James Comey to end the probe of Trump's fired national security adviser Michael Flynn, the report noted.
Mr. Mueller is examining whether the president fired Mr. Comey as part of a broader effort to alter the direction of a probe into allegations of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russian Federation during the 2016 presidential election, which at the time was being led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He's been building a team of investigators for a wide-ranging inquiry into Russia's meddling in the 2016 USA presidential campaign. "The investigation has been cloaked in secrecy, and it is unclear how many others have been questioned by the FBI", it said.
Mr Trump's legal team said the latest leak to the media was "outrageous".
On March 22, less than a week after being confirmed by the Senate, Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats attended a briefing at the White House together with officials from several government agencies.
The NSA said in statement that it will "fully cooperate with the special counsel, " and declined to comment further.
Mr Comey told Congress last week he believed he was sacked by Mr Trump to undermine the agency's Russian Federation probe.
According to American reports, special counsel Robert Mueller is now probing whether the President's conduct was against the law.
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The crime of obstruction of justice could lead to a move to impeach Trump in Congress, something that some Democratic lawmakers have called for, provided that the unfolding facts prove that to be warranted.
The White House has been inconsistent with its public messaging about the dismissal - initially saying Trump took the recommendations of Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein about Comey's management of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, but then the president himself said he had made up his mind prior to receiving the recommendations from the two top lawyers at the Department of Justice.
Comey's firing is a "central moment that's being looked at" in the investigation, Post reporter Devlin Barrett told NPR's Ari Shapiro, "but it's not the only thing".
Comey had previously assured Trump he was not under investigation.
The president then started complaining about the FBI investigation and Comey's handling of it, said officials familiar with the account Coats gave to associates.
The news comes one day after Rosenstein affirmed his support for the special counsel, despite recent reports that Trump was weighing Mueller's dismissal.
"I appointed him; I stand by that decision, " he said.
Coats and Rogers refused to comply with the president's requests, officials said.
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