Former Speaker of the House and Trump whisperer, Newt Gingrich, took the stage on Good Morning America, Tuesday to reaffirm his opposition to Independent Counsel Robert Mueller and deride his investigation into collusion between Russian Federation and the Trump campaign as "partisan".
"The President did talk with him in the days before he was named special counsel", Ruddy told PBS on Monday in the same interview where he said Trump was "considering terminating" Mueller as special counsel. The White House finally said Tuesday evening that Trump has "no intention" of firing Mueller, amid speculation and concern that he was weighing that option.
Ruddy was at the White House today to meet with White House aides, but did not speak with the president, Press Secretary Sean Spicer said.
Trump would seemingly have to order Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein to rescind department regulations protecting a special counsel from being fired for no good reason, and then to fire Mr. Mueller.
High-profile supporters of President Donald Trump are turning on special counsel Robert Mueller, the man charged with investigating Russian interference in the US election and possible collusion with Trump's campaign.
Members are using the event as a chance to grill Rosenstein about other topics, including the firing of FBI Director James Comey, the investigation into Russian meddling in last year's election and Rosenstein's decision to tap Mueller as special counsel. "With respect to this subject, only the president or his attorneys are authorized to comment".
Reports say Mueller examining possible obstruction of justice by Trump
The White House now refers all questions about the Russian Federation investigation to Trump's personal lawyer, Marc Kasowitz. Attorney-General Jeff Sessions is sworn in before testifying to the Senate Intelligence Committee hearing.
NPR reported on Friday that Mueller was being considered to lead the Federal Bureau of Investigation before being named special counsel.
Rep. Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence committee, said any move to oust Mueller would "be the last straw" for many in Congress and would have "echoes of Watergate", when President Richard Nixon dismissed special prosecutor Archibald Cox over Cox's subpoenas for White House tapes.
Criticism of special counsel Robert Mueller used to be off limits. In his testimony, Rosenstein made it clear that he would not follow a presidential order to fire Mueller unless he thought there was a good cause. "The near-universal advice Trump will be getting from his White House team-and from legal advisors close to the administration-will be that it's a catastrophic idea to get rid of Mueller".
Peter Carr, a spokesman for Mueller, declined to comment on Ruddy's remarks. "If there were not good cause, it would not matter what anybody says". Shaheen asked Rosenstein whether he'd seen any evidence of good cause for Mueller's removal (which would be required for him to fire Mueller).
Ruddy noted Tuesday morning in an email to Politico that Spicer "doesn't deny my claim the President is considering firing Mueller" and that Ruddy never claimed to have spoken with Trump about Mueller. "Don't waste time trying to undermine one of your few allies". "I think he should let Bob Mueller do his job, do his job independently and do his job quickly, because I think that that's what he would want to have happen".
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