President Trump’s attorney tried to reassure the public that President trump is not considering firing special counsel Robert Mueller after a day of speculation brought on by a different member of Trump’s legal team.
John Dowd, one of Trump’s attorneys, sparked a day of speculation about the future of Mueller’s investigation after he said he prayed Mueller would end his probe.
“I pray that Acting Attorney General Rosenstein will follow the brilliant and courageous example of the FBI Office of Professional Responsibility and Attorney General Jeff Sessions and bring an end to alleged Russia Collusion investigation manufactured by McCabe’s boss James Comey based upon a fraudulent and corrupt Dossier,” Dowd said in a text to the Daily Beast.
On Sunday, another one of Trump’s lawyers, Ty Cobb, walked back that statement after Democrats and Republicans alike reacted with shock and urged Trump not to order Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to fire Mueller.
“In response to media speculation and related questions being posed to the administration, the White House yet again confirms that the president is not considering or discussing the firing of the special counsel Robert Mueller,” Cobb said.
Dowd’s comment sparked hours of discussion on the Sunday political news shows about whether Trump was considering firing Mueller. Trump fueled that speculation with tweets criticizing the partisan make-up of the investigative team and saying Mueller’s investigation should have never been started.
Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., said on “Fox News Sunday” that Trump’s attorneys were not behaving as if they have an innocent client and told Trump that if he’s innocent, “act like it.” Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham warned Trump that firing Mueller would be the “beginning of the end of his presidency.”
Speaker Paul Ryan was moved to release a statement through a spokeswoman stating that he still wants Mueller to complete his investigation and be given the time to do so.
White House legislative director Marc Short emphasized earlier in the day that Trump was not considering firing Mueller.
“I don’t think that the president or anybody right now in our White House is suggesting not cooperating in any way with the Mueller investigation,” Short said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” “We’ve cooperated in every single way.”
