White House insists Trump isn't considering firing Mueller, despite critical tweets

After President Donald Trump accused special counsel Robert Mueller of political bias and called his probe a “witch hunt,” the White House has attempted to end speculation by clarifying that Trump is not considering firing Mueller, according to The Hill.

What did Trump say?

Trump tweeted pointed criticisms of Mueller and his investigation into potential collusion with Russia on Saturday, sparking media speculation that Trump was laying the groundwork to fire Mueller.

“The Mueller probe should never have been started in that there was no collusion and there was no crime,” Trump wrote. “It was based on fraudulent activities and a fake dossier paid for by Crooked Hillary and the DNC, and improperly used in FISA court for surveillance of my campaign. Witch hunt!"

“Why does the Mueller team have 13 hardened Democrats, some big Crooked Hillary supporters, and zero Republicans?” Trump continued. “Another Dem recently added…does anyone think this is fair? And yet, there is no collusion!”

Initiating the speculation about Mueller’s job security was a statement by Trump’s personal attorney John Dowd, who called for Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to end the Mueller investigation, and initially told the Daily Beast he was speaking on Trump’s behalf.

“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 the alleged Russia collusion investigation manufactured by [former FBI Deputy Director Andrew] McCabe’s boss James Comey based upon a fraudulent and corrupt dossier,” Dowd said in a statement.

Dowd later said he was speaking in a personal capacity, not on behalf of Trump.

What did the White House say?

White House lawyer Ty Cobb released a statement on Sunday to clarify that the president’s tweets did not indicate that Mueller was about to be terminated.

“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’s statement read.