President Donald Trump has the right to fire special counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 United States election and possible ties to the Trump campaign, but has no plans to do so, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said on Tuesday.
Speculation about whether Mueller would be removed was sparked on Monday after a friend of the president, Christopher Ruddy, the CEO of Newsmax Media, said during an interview on PBS NewsHour that he thought Trump is "considering perhaps terminating the special counsel".
"While the president has the right to, he has no intention to do so", Sanders said when asked whether Trump was considering the move.
The New York Times reported late Tuesday that Trump did consider firing Mueller, but that his staff talked him out of it, citing people with knowledge of Trump's interactions with staff. Trump discussed the implications of firing Mueller and told those around him that Mueller was part of a "witch hunt", according to the New York Times.
But after the testimony of former FBI Director James Comey last week, Gingrich said he'd changed his mind. The comments come amid increasing frustration at the White House and among Trump supporters the investigation will overshadow the president's agenda for months to come - a prospect that is favorable for Democrats.
As Mueller builds his legal team, Trump's allies have begun raising questions about the former Federal Bureau of Investigation director's impartiality, suggesting he can not be trusted to lead the probe. If Rosenstein refused, Trump could fire him and continue down the line until a DOJ official acquiesced. That showed that Trump is not one to be impeded by political protocol - Comey's 10-year term wasn't set to expire until 2023.
Trump was apparently bothered by reports from conservative outlets like Breitbart News linking Mueller to Comey.
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Mueller has wide authority to look into matters related to Russian election meddling, including collusion with Trump operatives, financial links between Trump and Russia and whether the president tried to obstruct the inquiry.
Some of Mr Trump's allies have begun questioning Mr Mueller's credibility as the investigation intensifies.
Ruddy was at the White House Monday to meet with White House aides, but did not speak with the president, Press Secretary Sean Spicer said. "Mr".
Rosenstein, who appointed Mueller, on Tuesday said: "As long as I'm in this position, he's not going to be fired without good cause".
The Trump confidant told TheDC that this wording from Ruddy is clearly an attempt to convince the president that firing Mueller would be a poor decision.
Trump has repeatedly denied colluding with Russian Federation during the presidential campaign, and Comey and others have testified that there is no evidence to the contrary. "Ruddy never spoke to the president regarding this issue", Spicer said.
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