Americans await Mueller’s next step
WASHINGTON: The White House is bracing for the probe of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign to fire up again.
Trump’s advisers are privately expressing worries that special counsel Robert Mueller, who’s been out of the news for the past month, has been stealthily compiling information and could soon issue new indictments or a damning final report.
Trump altered the chain of command above Mueller on Wednesday, putting his work under the supervision of a Republican loyalist who has been sceptical of the special counsel’s authority and has mused ways to curtail his power.
But Trump and his aides are concerned about Mueller’s next move with the work that is complete, according to a White House official and a Republican with close ties to the administration.
They insisted on anonymity to comment on conversations they were not authorised to describe.
Mueller lay low for the past month as voters were mulling their choices for this week’s elections.
While Trump is annoyed by the Russia meddling probe, the latest indication of the fury came on Wednesday when he forced out his attorney general, Jeff Sessions.
TRUMP FLIES TO PARIS, SET TO SKIP PEACE MEET
US President Donald Trump will not attend a conference organised in Paris this weekend to discuss democracy and multilateralism, organisers said on Thursday, in a snub to French President Emmanuel Macron.
Trump is due in the French capital along with around 70 other world leaders for a grand ceremony on the Champs-elysees on Sunday to mark the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I.
Leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Germany’s Angela Merkel, are expected to attend the Paris Peace Forum, which Macron will host.
The chief organiser of the event, Justin Vaisse, said Trump would not attend it, even though he arrived in Paris. He said, “This world needs to meet up and defend itself. It doesn’t matter if those who don’t believe in multilateralism aren’t there.”
Meanwhile, a video distributed by the Trump administration to support its argument for banning CNN reporter Jim Acosta from the White House appears to have been doctored , an independent expert told AP on Thursday.
US PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP HAS TOLD CONFIDANTS HE IS DEEPLY ANNOYED BY THE RUSSIA PROBE, BELIEVING IT IS NOT JUST A “WITCH HUNT” BUT AN EXPENSIVE AND LENGTHY NEGATIVE DISTRACTION