Trump calls Mueller investigation 'illegal hoax that should be ended immediately'

President Trump railed against Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation on Thursday night, hours after his former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, pleaded guilty to lying to the Senate Intelligence Committee about Trump's business dealings in Russia.

Trump tweeted a quote he attributed to lawyer and academic Alan Dershowitz, who reportedly said Special Counsel Robert Mueller has "no authority to be a roving Commissioner. I don't see any evidence of crimes." He went on to call Mueller's investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election "an illegal hoax that should be ended immediately. Mueller refuses to look at the real crimes on the other side."

In a separate tweet, Trump quoted Fox News host Gregg Jarrett, who defended Donald Trump Jr.'s meeting at Trump Tower in 2016 with Russians who promised compromising information on Hillary Clinton. "'This demonstrates the [sic] Robert Mueller and his partisans have no evidence, not a whiff of collusion, between Trump and the Russians. Russian project legal. Trump Tower meeting (son Don), perfectly legal. He wasn't involved with hacking.' Gregg Jarrett. A total Witch Hunt!" Trump did not elaborate on what "this" is and how it proves there's "not a whiff of collusion." The president is now in Argentina for the G20 summit.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

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.

Sign up