President Trump believes he has the authority to remove special counsel Robert Mueller, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said Tuesday, although she declined to specify whether Trump plans to exercise that authority.
“I know a number of individuals in the legal community, and including at the Department of Justice, said he has the power to do so, but I don’t have any further announcements,” Sanders told reporters at the White House.
“We’ve been advised that the president certainly has the power to make that decision,” she added. “I can’t go anything beyond that.”
Sanders dodged additional questions Tuesday about whether Trump has lost confidence in Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and FBI Director Christopher Wray, both of whom reportedly played roles in approving an FBI raid Monday of an office and hotel room used by Michael Cohen, Trump’s longtime personal attorney.
“The president has been clear he thinks this has gone too far,” Sanders said of the investigation.
Mueller’s team reportedly referred unknown evidence of criminal activity to the district attorney in New York, and Trump responded angrily on Monday upon learning Cohen’s home had been swept by federal agents.
Trump described the probe as a “witch hunt” and declared attorney-client privilege to be “dead” in tweets Tuesday morning.
[Chuck Schumer warns Trump against firing Robert Mueller after comments on Cohen raid]
