One year in, Russia probe fuels anxiety, criticism
Mueller’s broad net has unsettled White House
WASHINGTON — Unlike the president, Robert Mueller hasn’t uttered one word in public about his Russia investigation in the year since he was appointed special counsel. And that is rattling just about everyone involved.
What’s he up to? When will he bring the probe to an end?
He doesn’t have to say, and he’s not. A year into the investigation, the sternlooking prosecutor is everywhere and nowhere at the same time. In that time, the breadth and stealth of investigations surrounding Trump have unsettled the White House and its chief occupant, and have spread to Capitol Hill, K Street, foreign governments and, as late as last week, corporate boardrooms.
With lawmakers eying midterm elections and President Donald Trump publicly mulling whether he will sit for an interview with Mueller, Republican calls are growing for the special counsel to end his investigation. Vice President Mike Pence and others have said it publicly.
The longer the investigation runs, those calls are likely to grow.
House Speaker Paul Ryan, who has steadfastly supported the special counsel, seemed to change his tone a bit Thursday.
“I think he should be free to do his job, but I would like to see it get wrapped up, of course,” Ryan said of Mueller.
Mueller is investigating Russian interference in the election, whether Trump’s campaign was involved and possible obstruction of justice. And by the standards of previous special counsel investigations, his has so far gone fairly quickly. Since he was appointed on May 17, 2017, Mueller’s office has charged 19 people and three Russian companies. He has charged four Trump campaign advisers, including former national security adviser Michael Flynn and ex-Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort.
The probe has also ensnared countless Washington insiders who have been called to testify or found themselves under scrutiny, including lobbyists and foreign representatives who may have illegally sought to influence the administration. Large corporations like AT&T and Novartis have been contacted by Mueller and caught up in an offshoot investigation into Trump’s longtime personal attorney Michael Cohen.
But while he calls for an end to the investigation, Trump’s own indecision over an interview remains the most visible impediment to a speedy conclusion of at least one key part.
Mueller asked to interview the president months ago, but the Trump legal team has struggled to formally make a decision.