‘Let it come out’
Prez OK with ‘conflicted’ Mueller’s report
Special counsel Robert Mueller’s findings should see the light of day even though he’s “conflicted” and friendly with “bad cop” exFBI Director James Comey, President Trump said Wednesday.
Speaking to reporters outside the White House, Trump said he wouldn’t “mind’’ if the results of Mueller’s investigation into his campaign’s ties to Russia are released.
“Let it come out, let people see it,” Trump said. “Let’s see if it’s legit.”
Nonetheless, the President took a familiar shot at the special counsel.
“I know he’s conflicted,” Trump said of Mueller. “His best friend is Comey, who is a bad cop. … I had a nasty business transaction with him.”
Trump fired Comey in May 2017 while he was FBI chief and in charge of the nascent investigation into the President’s campaign.
Comey’s axing put into motion a series of hectic events that resulted in Mueller’s appointment as special counsel to probe possible collusion between Russians and Trump campaign associates ahead of the 2016 election.
The President has long claimed Mueller and Comey are “best friends.” The assertion is dubious at best, as the only connection between the two is working together at the Justice Department.
Mueller’s probe — which has resulted in indictments and convictions against six Trump associates and dozens of Russians — appears to be nearing its end, but how much of his findings will be made public remains a point of contention.
Trump said it will ultimately be up to his newly minted attorney general, William Barr, to decide how much of Mueller’s work will be seen by the public.
“That’s up to the attorney general,” Trump said. “We have a very good attorney general, he’s a very highly respected man.”
Barr has said he wants to release as much as possible of Mueller’s final report while still adhering to confidentiality protocols — a distinction that has unnerved Democrats who want complete assurances that the report is released in full.
A majority of Americans, meanwhile, disagree with Trump’s frequent attacks on Mueller, according to a new Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll.
According to the survey, six in 10 Americans have confidence in Mueller and believe he has conducted a fair investigation. More than 30% of those surveyed are very confident in Mueller’s inquiry, according to the poll.