President Donald Trump on Friday confirmed that he is the subject of an investigation by special counselor Robert Mueller in a tweet was inflammatory even by Trump standards.
I am being investigated for firing the FBI Director by the man who told me to fire the FBI Director! Witch Hunt
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 16, 2017
The tweet, an apparent reference to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, went out shortly after lawmakers strongly warned the Trump administration against firing special counsel Mueller or impairing his investigation into Russian election interference.
Christopher Ruddy, a friend of the president’s, on Monday first said that Trump had been “weighing” whether to fire Mueller, who was appointed by Rosenstein after Trump fired FBI director James Comey in May. Ruddy’s remark triggered a rush of speculation, which was reinforced Thursday by this tweet:
You are witnessing the single greatest WITCH HUNT in American political history – led by some very bad and conflicted people! #MAGA
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 15, 2017
Rosenstein told lawmakers Tuesday that he would only follow orders that he believed to be “lawful and appropriate.”
“As long as I’m in this position, he’s not going to be fired without good cause,” Rosenstein said.
Republican senators on Thursday had urged Trump not to fire Mueller or disrupt the special counsel probe.
“It would be a catastrophic mistake, but he doesn’t have the authority to do that. He could order Rod Rosenstein to do it,” Maine senator Susan Collins told reporters.
Collins said she thought it was unlikely that Trump would fire Rosenstein in order to remove Mueller, describing the move as “extremely unwise.”
Arizona senator John McCain said firing Mueller or stunting the probe would cause grave damage.
“It would be disastrous for him,” McCain said. “Mueller is one of the most respected individuals in America.”
The White House has said that Trump does not intend to fire Mueller, though he has the ability to.
“While the president has the right to, he has no intention to do so,” spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Tuesday.
Democrats condemned the potential move in harsher terms.
“We risk a constitutional crisis if this president tries again to stop this legitimate investigation into the role of Russians in our last election,” said Democratic whip Dick Durbin.
“Firing Bob Mueller is an attack on the rule of law,” Oregon senator Ron Wyden told reporters.
California senator Dianne Feinstein also voiced concern Friday in the wake of Trump’s tweet that the president would attempt to fire Mueller and Rosenstein both.
“If the president thinks he can fire Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein and replace him with someone who will shut down the investigation, he’s in for a rude awakening,” she said in a statement.
