Trump claims special prosecutor on Russia 'hurts our country terribly'

On Thursday, President Trump blasted the Justice Department's decision to appoint a special prosecutor to oversee the ongoing investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election. "I believe it hurts our country terribly, because it shows we're a divided, mixed-up, not-unified country," Trump said. He added: "Hopefully this can go quickly, because we have to show unity if we're going to do great things with respect to the rest of the world."

The DOJ's decision follows the revelation Tuesday night that former FBI Director James Comey kept detailed notes of his conversations with President Trump, including when Trump allegedly asked Comey to drop his Russia-linked investigation into former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn. Robert Mueller, who led the FBI for 12 years during the George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations, will serve as special counsel.

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.