Mueller refers women’s claims to the FBI

WASHINGTON — The office of special counsel Robert Mueller has referred to the FBI allegations that women were “offered money to make false claims” about Mueller, according to Mueller’s spokesman.

In a statement, spokesman Peter Carr said that once the office learned of the allegations, it immediately referred the matter to the FBI for investigation.

The statement didn’t specify what the claims were, but the referral to the FBI — and a rare public statement about it from the special counsel’s office — suggests that Mueller’s office believed there was a potential crime for federal law enforcement to investigate.

The attempt to spread what Mueller’s office says are false claims about him also appears to be an effort to discredit the former FBI director as his team enters a critical stage of its investigation into whether the Trump campaign coordinated with Russia and whether the president attempted to obstruct justice.

Carr’s statement comes as Jack Burkman, a conservative lobbyist, tweeted that on Thursday he “will reveal the first of special counsel Robert Mueller’s sex assault victims. I applaud the courage and dignity and grace and strength of my client.”

Mueller’s office has charged 32 people so far, with four former associates of the president pleading guilty and agreeing to cooperate with investigators. A grand jury in recent weeks has heard testimony centered on another former Trump aide, Roger Stone.