Trump Launches Attack On Mueller: Says Team Stacked With Dems, Hillary Supporters, No Republicans
President Donald Trump doubled down on his assertion that special counsel Robert Mueller is leading a witch hunt by accusing Mueller of stacking his team with “13 hardened Democrats, some big Crooked Hillary supporters, and zero Republicans,” in a tweet on Sunday.
Trump’s allegation does carry some credence, but according to Politifact, “Federal regulations prohibit the Justice Department from considering the political affiliation or political contributions of career appointees, including those appointed to the Special Counsel’s Office.”
Trump’s allegations against Mueller come after the announcement that the special counsel has subpoenaed records from the Trump Organization. Trump has declared that his personal finances were off-limits and a “red line” would be crossed if Mueller decided to delve into the president’s business dealings prior to his election.
Why does the Mueller team have 13 hardened Democrats, some big Crooked Hillary supporters, and Zero Republicans? Another Dem recently added…does anyone think this is fair? And yet, there is NO COLLUSION!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 18, 2018
Although Trump has made other derogatory remarks about Mueller’s investigation into possible Russian collaboration with the Trump campaign, the president has mostly refrained from direct attacks on Mueller himself.
Trump’s latest tweet has been framed with concern that he may be building a case to upend the Russia investigation by firing Mueller, after the late-night sacking of deputy FBI director Andrew McCabe, just days before his scheduled retirement.
Senator Lindsey Graham tried to allay those concerns during a Sunday appearance on CNN with Jake Tapper, as reported by the Inquisitr. Graham reiterated a warning that any move to fire Mueller will result in the end of the Trump presidency.
However, Graham’s reassurances have not stopped some congressional Republicans and even Trump’s personal attorney from publicly calling for an end to the investigation. Trump attorney, John Dowd, told CNN that it was time to end the Mueller probe on Saturday.
Meanwhile, as Trump confronts his stateside detractors, there has been little or no comment from the president about an increasingly belligerent Russia.
Trump recently gave a tepid response when asked about the alleged Russian nerve agent attack on Sergei Skirpal and his daughter in the U.K. Trump told reporters that his administration would “look into” the allegation and would condemn Russia if it is determined to be the culprit.
Both former secretary of state Rex Tillerson and National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster concurred with the U.K.’s assessment of Russian involvement, and both issued scathing statements about the incident. Tillerson was fired and McMaster’s job is now reportedly in jeopardy.
