White House Legislative Affairs Director Marc Short said Sunday President Trump doesn’t plan to fire Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein or Special Counsel Robert Mueller, despite frustrations with the length and scope of the probe into alleged Russian meddling.
He also said the media should cool it with questions about potential firings.
“As far as I know, the president has no intention of firing these individuals,” Mr. Short told NBC’s Meet the Press.
Mr. Rosenstein is overseeing Mr. Mueller’s investigation, after Attorney General Jeff Sessions — an early Trump campaign supporter — recused himself.
Mr. Sessions told the White House that Mr. Rosenstein’s firing would prompt him to leave, too, according to The Washington Post.
The report also said Mr. Trump refers to Mr. Session as “Mr. Magoo” and Mr. Rosenstein as “Mr. Peepers,” a character from a 1950s sitcom.
NBC host Chuck Todd said Mr. Trump is the one fueling speculation over the men’s jobs, and could be more definitive about his intentions.
“You don’t know how far off the investigation is going to veer,” Mr. Short said. “Right now, he has no intention of firing them.”
Mr. Short said the White House has been very patient with the special counsel and provided thousands of documents, yet they feel the probe has gone “well beyond” the intended look at Russian meddling.
Federal agents recently raided the offices of Mr. Trump’s longtime lawyer, Michael Cohen, and Mr. Mueller is also said to be looking at allegations of obstruction of justice.
“We continue to cooperate without evidence of collusion, so yes, I think the president expresses a lot frustration of where the special counsel investigation is,” Mr. Short said.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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