Trump says he won't fire Mueller, as campaign to discredit Russia probe heats up

President Donald Trump speaks to members of the media on the South Lawn at the White House in Washington. Photo / AP

US President Donald Trump sought to douse speculation that he may fire Special Counsel Robert Mueller amid an intensifying campaign by Trump allies to attack the wide-ranging Russia investigation as improper and politically motivated.

Returning to the White House from Camp David, Trump was asked whether he intended to fire Mueller. "No, I'm not," he told journalists, insisting that there was "no collusion whatsoever" between his campaign and Russia.

The President's comments came a day after a lawyer representing Trump's transition team accused Mueller of wrongfully obtaining thousands of emails sent and received by Trump officials before the start of his Administration - a legal and public relations move seen as possibly laying the groundwork to oust the Special Counsel.

The Special Counsel's office rejected the allegations. "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," said Peter Carr, a spokesman for Mueller's team.

Randall Eliason, a former federal prosecutor at George Washington University Law School, said it was not surprising that Mueller's team sought Trump transition emails. "It's not your personal email. If it ends in .gov, you don't have any expectation of privacy."

Trump criticised Mueller for gaining access to those emails, telling reporters the situation was "not looking good".

The outcry over Mueller's probe into Russia's 2016 election interference grew louder over the weekend among Trump loyalists and conservative media figures. Although Trump has publicly and privately criticised the Department of Justice and the FBI and voiced displeasure with his appointees there, the President's advisers insisted he is not aiming his ire at Mueller. "As the White House has repeatedly and emphatically said for months, there is no consideration about firing or replacing the Special Counsel with whom the White House has fully cooperated in order to permit a fully vetted yet prompt conclusion," Ty Cobb, a White House lawyer overseeing the Russia matter, said.

Trump's lawyers, who have been assuring the President that Mueller's investigation is poised to wrap up by January or so, are scheduled to meet Mueller's team later this week for a routine status conference.

As the Special Counsel has inched closer to Trump with a series of indictments and guilty pleas, including securing the cooperation of former national security adviser Michael Flynn, the President's defenders have spotlighted examples of political bias among two senior FBI officials as proof of a compromised investigation.

FBI lawyer Lisa Page and counterintelligence agent Peter Strzok, who worked on the Russia investigation, were removed from Mueller's team after text messages surfaced in which they discussed their dislike of Trump and support of Democrat Hillary Clinton. Their text messages were released by the Justice Department last week and are still under review.

Illustration / Rod Emmerson

Some Trump surrogates have said the texts show that Mueller's investigation is partisan.

"It looks more and more and more like an attack on the presidency," former Trump campaign adviser Michael Caputo said yesterday. "I still don't believe Mueller is in for a silent coup, but I think people around him have shown that this thing is off the rails ... These texts and emails were a declaration of their membership in the resistance."

The attacks have fed speculation about Mueller's fate. Congresswoman Jackie Speier, (D),said that "the rumour" on Capitol Hill is that Trump would fire Mueller at the end of this week, as Congress disperses for a holiday break.

Obama Administration Attorney- General Eric Holder tweeted: "ABSOLUTE RED LINE: the firing of Bob Mueller or crippling the special counsel's office. If removed or meaningfully tampered with, there must be mass, popular, peaceful support of both. The American people must be seen and heard."

Liberal activist groups have readied mass protests in the event that Mueller is fired.

Advisers who have spoken recently with Trump about the Russia investigation said the President was sharply critical of Attorney-General Jeff Sessions, as well as Deputy Attorney-General Rod Rosenstein, who oversees the Mueller operation - but did not broach the idea of firing Mueller. "I think he realises that would be a step too far," said one adviser.

Robert Mueller. Photo / AP

In a Twitter thread, former FBI special agent Asha Rangappa pointed out that "Rosenstein ... has basically seen everything that Mueller has. If Trump fires, Rosenstein ... he can preemptively choose someone who is going to stonewall the investigation from moving forward ... Rosenstein, not Mueller, is really the buffer right now between POTUS (and Congress) and a full investigation of all aspects of 'the Russia investigation'."

There are ways that Trump could fire Mueller, according to legal scholars and former Justice Department officials. Under the special counsel regulations, Mueller could be disciplined or removed from office only by "good cause" and "by the personal action of the attorney general". Rosenstein is acting as the attorney-general because Sessions recused himself from the Russia investigation.

Neal Katyal, a former acting solicitor-general who wrote the regulations that govern Mueller's appointment, has said that Trump would have to fire Rosenstein to get rid of Mueller. "If Rosenstein refused, Trump could fire him and keep firing everyone who replaced him until he found someone who would fire Mueller," said Harvard Law School professor Jack Goldsmith. If Trump fires Rosenstein, the next in line to oversee Mueller is Associate Attorney-General Rachel Brand.

On Capitol Hill, Mueller has widespread support. Asked what might happen if Trump fired the Special Counsel, Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn, (R), said, "I think that would be a mistake."