President Donald Trump took to Twitter on Thursday to offer his first comments on news that he is being examined for possible obstruction of justice - an investigation he dismissed as part of the "phony" accusations of collusion between his campaign and Russian Federation previous year.
Mr Mueller is investigating alleged Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and possible collusion with the Trump campaign.
Until Trump's Friday-morning Twitter burst, only the Washington Post's sources had indicated that Trump was being investigated for possible obstruction of justice. In his latest of four Friday morning tweets, all angry and combative, the President says he is being investigated, and appears to target Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.
US President Donald Trump took to Twitter on Friday to insist that despite months of investigating, no proof has emerged that he colluded with Russian Federation to tilt the 2016 presidential election in his favour.
And, according to the Washington Post's report, the obstruction of justice probe into Trump was self-inflicted, beginning only after Trump fired then-FBI Director James Comey. "I can go around them", Trump tweeted.
The news came the same week as Trump friend Chris Ruddy floated the possibility that Trump would fire Mueller, who was appointed to head up the investigation after Trump fired FBI Director James Comey.
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The government has ordered a judge-led inquiry into Wednesday's disaster, which is under pressure to act quickly. In her statement May said: "We need to know what happened, we need to have an explanation of this".
A source close to Trump's legal team insisted to the Guardian that "the president was not confirming the investigation".
Complicating matters further, ABC News reported on Friday that Rosenstein was considering recusing himself from involvement in Mueller's investigation, handing responsibility for resources, personnel and possible prosecutions to associate attorney general Rachel Brand. Days after that happened, Trump told NBC News' Lester Holt that the Russian Federation investigation played a role in his decision to terminate him, and he has dismissed the probe as "fake news". "Regulations way down, jobs and enthusiasm way up!", Trump tweeted.
Trump also criticized the change in focus of the investigation on Thursday, saying that it was run by "some very bad and conflicted people!". The Post report did not name the Federal Bureau of Investigation as its source. Richard Burr and Mark Warner, the Republican and Democratic leadership of the Senate intelligence committee Wednesday.
"I've talked with Director Mueller about this", Rosenstein told AP.
A close Trump associate said this week the president was considering firing Mueller, although the White House later denied it.
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