Trump is considering firing Special Counsel Robert Mueller, friend says
President Trump might order the Justice Department to fire Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who is heading an investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 election and any ties to the Trump campaign, longtime Trump friend Christopher Ruddy told PBS NewsHour on Monday. Other Trump allies, like Newt Gingrich, have switched from praising Mueller's integrity and honesty to questioning whether he can be impartial.
Ruddy, chief executive of the conservative Newsmax Media and a member of Trump's Mar-a-Lago club, said that Trump understood from last week's bombshell testimony from former FBI Director James Comey that Trump wasn't personally alleged to have committed any crime. That makes Mueller's investigation "highly unusual" and "politically driven," he argued.
PBS' Judy Woodruff asked Ruddy, who said he spoke with Trump on Friday, if Trump is "prepared to let the special counsel pursue his investigation," and Ruddy shrugged. "Well, I think he's considering perhaps terminating the special counsel," he said. "I think he's weighing that option; I think it's pretty clear by what one of his lawyers said on televisions recently. I think it would be a very significant mistake, even though I don't think there's a justification" for a special counsel, and he suggested that Mueller is compromised because his law firm represented some members of the Trump family and Trump had interviewed Muller for the FBI director position before he was appointed special prosecutor.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said that while Ruddy was at the White House on Monday, he had not met with Trump there and doesn't speak for the White House. "Chris Ruddy speaks for himself," Spicer said. "With respect to this subject, only the president or his attorneys are authorized to comment." Ruddy was likely referring to lawyer Jay Sekulow's comments on ABC News Sunday that he wouldn't speculate on Trump firing Mueller but he also "can't imagine the issue is going to arise."
Ruddy confirmed to The Washington Post that he believes Trump is considering firing Mueller, and a senior White House official told The New York Times that Trump had interviewed Mueller for FBI director the day before Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein had chosen him as special counsel. Trump has the authority to order Rosenstein to lift Justice Department rules protecting Mueller's independence and then fire him, though doing so would incur a political cost.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Trump nominee in limbo after racist texts leakSpeed Read Paul Ingrassia lost Republican support following the exposure of past racist text messages
-
Trump begins East Wing demolition for ballroomspeed read The president’s new construction will cost $250 million
-
Appeals court clears Trump’s Portland troop deploymentSpeed Read A divided federal appeals court ruled that President Trump can send the National Guard to Portland
-
Millions turn out for anti-Trump ‘No Kings’ ralliesSpeed Read An estimated 7 million people participated, 2 million more than at the first ‘No Kings’ protest in June
-
DOJ indicts John Bolton over classified filesSpeed Read Continuing the trend of going after his political enemies, Trump prosecutes his former national security adviser
-
Trump, Putin set summit as Zelenskyy lands in DCSpeed Read Trump and Putin have agreed to meet in Budapest soon to discuss ending the war in Ukraine
-
Courts deal setbacks to Trump’s Chicago operationsSpeed Read President Donald Trump cannot deploy the National Guard in Illinois
-
Pentagon reporters turn in badges after refusing rulesSpeed Read They refused to sign a restrictive new press policy imposed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth


