President Trump and his allies have turned their fire on the special counsel overseeing the Russia investigation and even the deputy attorney general who appointed him, raising questions as to how the president plans to navigate a potential obstruction of justice probe while openly sparring with his Justice Department.

The president’s shift in tone toward Robert Mueller, the special counsel selected by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein on May 17, coincided with growing calls from supporters to consider removing Mueller and Rosenstein. But Trump’s sharpened criticism of his investigators also coincided with an expansion of their probe, and the timing of his Twitter tirades against them this week stoked speculation that his anger was tied to the widening scope of the investigation.