WASHINGTON — Criticism of special counsel Robert Mueller used to be off limits.
Not now. Some of President Donald Trump’s closest allies — including one of his sons — have begun questioning whether Mueller’s wide-ranging probe is becoming too political, as the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election intensifies.
The effort to muddy the waters surrounding the investigation is coming amid growing White House concern that the probe could detract from the president’s agenda for months or years to come. Senators on Tuesday questioned both Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein on how the inquiry is being handled.
Until now, Mueller had drawn widespread praise from Republicans and Democrats alike. Trump, who isn’t typically shy about leveling criticism, especially on Twitter, hasn’t commented on the longtime former FBI director. And leading Republican legislators on Tuesday waved off the idea of firing Mueller, with House Speaker Paul Ryan saying that his advice was to “let Robert Mueller do his job” and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell voicing confidence in the special counsel.
But expressions of discontent with Mueller are bubbling up nonetheless.
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich led one line of attack with a tweet that said “Republicans are delusional if they think the special counsel is going to be fair.” He added that fundraising records show some of the lawyers whom Mueller selected for his team have contributed to Democrats.
Peter Carr, a spokesman for Mueller, declined to comment on the issues Gingrich and others have raised. In general, it is impermissible to ask prospective government hires about their political leanings, including whether they’ve made donations.
Both Fleischer and Gingrich had previously vouched for the character and integrity of Mueller, who was appointed FBI director by Bush and whose term was extended an extra two years by Democratic President Barack Obama.
Anxiety about the probe — and fresh concerns about the political leanings of some of the attorneys involved — is percolating in the West Wing of the White House.
Chris Ruddy, a Trump friend and the CEO of the conservative website Newsmax, raised the possibility of the president considering terminating Mueller. White House officials confirmed that Ruddy was the White House Monday, but said he didn’t meet with the president and never spoke with him about the issue.
But Ruddy opened a new line of questions about Mueller’s impartiality — the fact that Trump had considered Mueller for the FBI director’s job before he was named special counsel.
Mueller was interviewed both by the Justice Department and by the president personally for the director’s position, according to a senior White House official. The interview took place several days before Rosenstein picked Mueller as special counsel for the Russia probe, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the interview, which was was first reported by PBS.