Trump says won’t fire Robert Mueller despite email debacle
US President Donald Trump says he will not fire Special Counsel Robert Mueller, although some in his team are "very upset" about the counsel’s decision to obtain thousands of their emails as part of an ongoing investigation into the alleged collusion with Russia.
It was reported on Saturday that Mueller obtained "many tens of thousands" of private emails from Trump’s transition team and was using them to open up new leads in his widening inquiry.
Asked Sunday night about the issue, Trump said his lawyers thought Mueller’s move was "pretty sad."
"I can't imagine there's anything on (the emails), frankly, because as we said, there's no collusion. No collusion whatsoever," Trump said. "But a lot of lawyers thought that was pretty sad."
The emails reportedly include conversations about sensitive topics, such as policy planning, potential appointments and the political views of senators involved in the confirmation process.
Kory Langhofer, a lawyer for Trump’s transition team, claimed Mueller has obtained the emails unlawfully.
Special Counsel spokesman Peter Carr, however, denied the accusation.
"When we have obtained emails in the course of our ongoing criminal investigation, we have secured either the account owner's consent or appropriate criminal process," Carr said early Sunday.
California Representative Jackie Speier and a number of other high-ranking Democrats say they are concerned that Trump would fire Mueller.
"I believe that the President wants all of this shut down," Speier said Friday. "He wants to shut down these investigations and he wants to fire special counsel Mueller."
Adam Schiff, the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, has also made similar claims, writing a tweet that, "I'm increasingly worried Republicans will shut down the House Intelligence Committee investigation at the end of the month."
White House special counsel Ty Cobb, who was appointed to represent President Trump in the investigation, said Saturday that firing Mueller was not an option.
"As the White House has consistently said for months, there is no consideration of firing the special counsel," Cobb said.
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