Also Wednesday, Senate Judiciary Chairman Charles Grassley said his panel will investigate the removal of former FBI Director James Comey and "any alleged improper partisan interference in law enforcement investigations".
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said today that the committee will pursue investigations into any efforts to influence FBI investigations.
Comey testified before the Senate intelligence committee last week and confirmed that he gave Mueller the memos he wrote detailing his interactions with Trump ahead of his firing.
Trump couldn't resist referring to the probe's "Witch Hunt" a half hour later in a tweet that touted the economic recovery during his young presidency.
"Didn't do it myself, for a variety of reasons", Comey told the Senate Intelligence Committee on June 8. All week, some of Trump's most ardent defenders, including his son Donald Trump Jr., his White House counselor Kellyanne Conway and friend and occasional adviser Newt Gingrich have questioned the probe in similar ways.
Although he was brought on to lead the Russian Federation investigation, Mueller is allowed to look beyond it.
During his testimony before the same Senate committee last week, Comey said he felt he was sacked in large part because he refused to drop an Federal Bureau of Investigation probe into possible nefarious ties between Russian officials and Trump's campaign adviser and first national-security adviser, Michael Flynn.
Even the House intelligence committee - which was nearly derailed by a partisan split and has been slowed by a decision by its chairman, Devin Nunes, not to completely step aside from the probe - took critical steps this week.
Earlier Thursday, Trump tweeted that a new report suggesting that special counsel Robert Mueller may investigate him for possible obstruction of justice after he fired FBI Director James Comey is a "phony story".
Flights cancelled amid searing heat in south-western US
Planes are being grounded in Phoenix , Arizona while revellers in Las Vegas are being forced inside by the blistering heat. Weather service meteorologist Chris Breckenridge said: "That's deadly heat no matter how you slice it".
Lynch's infamous Phoenix airport tarmac meeting with Bill Clinton in the final days of the email investigation will be part of the probe. I don't think we should have any more investigations.
Mueller was appointed as special counsel to investigate Russian involvement in the 2016 presidential election and possible collusion by Trump campaign associates with the Russians, but there has been no indication that Mueller told Trump to fire Comey.
News of the panel staying exclusively focused on probing Russia's role in the 2016 election came after the Republican and Democratic leaders of the committee met with Mueller on Wednesday to discuss the boundaries of their respective investigations.
Mueller is interviewing as early as this week three top intelligence officials as part of the probe, the Post reported, citing "five people briefed on the requests".
The Justice Department's special-counsel investigation into Russia's meddling in the 2016 USA presidential election is now also reportedly examining whether President Donald Trump attempted to obstruct justice.
President Donald Trump is taking to Twitter denounce reports that the Russian Federation investigation is widening to examine whether he tried to obstruct justice.
"They made up a phony collusion with the Russians story, found zero proof, so now they go for obstruction of justice on the phony story".
White House staffers still believe Trump is volatile enough that they can't be sure that he won't change his mind if he grows upset with how the investigation is conducted.
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