Special counsel named to probe Russian actions
WASHINGTON — Former FBI Director Robert Mueller was given sweeping power Wednesday to investigate Russian interference in the 2016 presidential campaign, with a broad mandate that could encompass any questionable actions of President Donald Trump’s associates and possibly even the circumstances of last week’s abrupt firing of FBI director James Comey.
Congressional Republicans and Democrats praised the Justice Department’s decision to appoint Mr. Mueller as special counsel — sparking a rare moment of bipartisanship on Capitol Hill over a politically charged issue.
The appointment — viewed as heightening the legal and
political stakes for the president and his young administration — came at the same time that both the Senate Intelligence Committee and the Senate Judiciary Committee intensified their oversight, seeking memos and testimony from Mr. Comey.
The Justice Department’s appointment of Mr. Mueller as a special counsel was seen as an acknowledgment of growing public demands to place the politically charged inquiry into the hands of an outside investigator with bipartisan respect. It follows weeks of questions about the Justice Department’s independence from the White House and comes two months after Attorney General Jeff Sessions had to recuse himself because of his own undisclosed Russian contacts during the campaign.
“I accept this responsibility and will discharge it to the best of my ability,” Mr. Mueller said in a statement.
In a statement released by the White House, Mr. Trump said: “As I have stated many times, a thorough investigation will confirm what we already know — there was no collusion between my campaign and any foreign entity. I look forward to this matter concluding quickly.”
As special counsel, Mr. Mueller will direct an FBI counterintelligence investigation examining whether Russia coordinated with Trump campaign associates to influence the election in his behalf. He is entitled to a budget, can request new or additional staff and will have the same authority as high-ranking Justice Department lawyers, including the ability to prosecute any crimes he uncovers.
His mandate extends beyond any specific Trump-Russia connection to cover “any matters that arose or may arise directly from the investigation.” That language suggests Mr. Mueller could also explore whether the firing of Mr. Comey — who publicly revealed the investigation’s existence to Congress in March — and a conversation Mr. Comey has said he had with the president weeks earlier represented efforts to obstruct or derail the FBI’s work.
In appointing Mr. Mueller, the Justice Department selected a seasoned law enforcement veteran who guided the FBI through the aftermath of 9/11 and led its terror-fighting efforts over the next decade. A former federal prosecutor who served under presidential administrations of both parties and became director days before the attacks, Mr. Mueller was so valued that former President Barack Obama asked him to stay on two years longer than his 10year term.
The White House counsel was notified after the special counsel order was signed and soon before it was publicly announced. A senior administration official described Mr. Trump’s reaction to Mr. Mueller’s appointment as “measured.” The official said there was widespread agreement among staff that the appointment of Mr. Mueller provides Mr. Trump and his aides with the opportunity to “commit ourselves to doubling down on the agenda.”
The appointment seemed meant to quell mounting questions about the Justice Department’s ability to independently oversee the investigation.
Last week, a memo drafted by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein was held up by the White House as justification for the firing of Mr. Comey, who had been leading the investigation. Then came Tuesday’s revelation that Mr. Comey had written in a memo that Mr. Trump, in a February meeting, had asked him to end an investigation into former national security adviser Michael Flynn. The White House denied that account.
Also on Wednesday, two people familiar with the case said that Mr. Flynn told Mr. Trump’s transition team weeks before the inauguration that he was under federal investigation for secretly working as a paid lobbyist for Turkey during the campaign.
In related news, Foreign Policy learned that the intelligence community will not be doing a damage assessment into Mr. Trump’s disclosures of classified intelligence to Russian officials.