White House Staff Prevented the Firing of Mueller

Wednesday, 14 June 2017 08:44

Excerpt: "People close to Mr. Trump say he is so volatile they cannot be sure that he will not change his mind about Mr. Mueller if he finds out anything to lead him to believe the investigation has been compromised."

Robert S. Mueller III and James B. Comey at the White House in June 2013. (photo: Jason Reed/Reuters)

White House Staff Prevented the Firing of Mueller

By Glenn Thrush, Maggie Haberman and Julie Hirschfeld Davis, The New York Times

14 June 17

ast month�s appointment of Robert S. Mueller III as a special counsel to investigate possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia enraged President Trump. Yet, at least initially, he holstered his Twitter finger and publicly said nothing.

But behind the scenes, the president soon began entertaining the idea of firing Mr. Mueller even as his staff tried to discourage him from something they believed would turn a bad situation into a catastrophe, according to several people with direct knowledge of Mr. Trump�s interactions. A longtime friend, Christopher Ruddy, surfaced the president�s thinking in a television interview Monday night, setting off a frenzied day of speculation that he would go through with it.

For now, the staff has prevailed. �While the president has every right to� fire Mr. Mueller, �he has no intention to do so,� the White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters late Tuesday.

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