WASHINGTON — House Republicans ratcheted up criticism of special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe into Russian meddling Wednesday, questioning whether there was bias on his team of lawyers but stopping short of calling for his firing or resignation.
The criticism directed toward Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein at a House Judiciary Committee hearing comes after the release of anti-Donald Trump text messages exchanged between two FBI officials later assigned to the Russia probe. While Republicans on Capitol Hill are unlikely to support Mueller’s removal, some appear to be laying the groundwork for suggesting the results of the investigation will be unfairly partisan.
House members focused on the hundreds of text messages between an FBI counterintelligence agent and an FBI lawyer. Those messages, which occurred before Mueller was appointed in May to investigate potential coordination between Russia and the Trump campaign, show the officials using words like “idiot” and “loathsome human” to characterize Trump as he was running for president in 2016. One of the officials said in an election night text that the prospect of a Trump victory was “terrifying.”
“How, with a straight face, can you say that this group of Democrat partisans are unbiased and will give President Trump a fair shake?” asked Republican Rep. Steve Chabot of Ohio.
Rosenstein defended Mueller. When asked by lawmakers if he had seen good cause to fire Mueller, whom he appointed and whose work he oversees, Rosenstein replied that he had not.
“The special counsel’s investigation is not a witch hunt,” Rosenstein said in response to questions about whether he agreed with Trump’s characterization of the probe. “The independence and integrity of the investigation are not going to be affected by anything that anyone says.”
Critics of the probe may win praise from Trump, who has been pressured by some allies to push back. But there is still little appetite on Capitol Hill to have Mueller removed.
South Carolina Republican Trey Gowdy, who is leading investigations into Democrat Hillary Clinton and leaks from the Russia probe, ticked through the text messages at Wednesday’s hearing. But he also said he doesn’t want Mueller removed.
“I think there are prosecutors he could have found that had not donated to major political candidates — I wish he had found them,” Gowdy said. “But ultimately this comes down to facts, and I’m going to give him the benefit of the doubt until otherwise necessary.”