TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT
Giuliani says it’s just expression of opinion
President Donald Trump tweeted on Wednesday a call for his attorney general, Jeff Sessions, to end special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian election interference. ANDREW HARNIK/AP
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump called on Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Wednesday to shut down Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian election interference, but his aides quickly played down the comments and insisted that Trump had no plans to fire the special counsel.
Trump wrote on Twitter that Sessions “should stop this Rigged Witch Hunt right now, before it continues to stain our country any further.” He accused Mueller of having a conflict of interest and criticized his staff as “Angry Democrats that are doing his dirty work.” He called the investigation a “terrible situation.”
Democratic lawmakers seized on Trump’s tweet, saying it was a clear effort to thwart justice.
“This is an attempt to obstruct justice hiding in plain sight,” tweeted Rep. Adam Schiff, D- Calif., the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee.
The president’s lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, said his client “was expressing his opinion on his favored medium” for communicating, not issuing an order to his attorney general.
White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said Trump made clear that he wanted to see Mueller finish the investigation.
“We’d like to see it completed sooner rather than later,” Sanders said.
Mueller is investigating Russian attempts to sway the 2016 election toward Trump and whether anyone from Trump’s presidential campaign cooperated with Moscow.
He is examining whether there were any attempts to obstruct the investigation.
Congressional Republicans expressed support for having Mueller continue his investigation. Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., said, “Most of us up here believe the process needs to play out, and it will.”
Trump’s latest tweets about Mueller come at what could be a pivotal point in the investigation.
A trial began Tuesday for former Trump campaign manager Paul Mana-