President Donald Trump told reporters on Thursday that he hasn’t given firing special counsel Robert Mueller any thought, despite people close to him telling reporters that the President is considering firing the man investigating Russian meddling in the 2016 election.
“I haven’t given it any thought,” he said. “I’ve been reading about it from you people. You say, ‘Oh, I’m going to dismiss him.’ No, I’m not dismissing anybody.”
Trump told reporters that he has not passed notes to Mueller through his lawyers but that his administration is working with the special counsel despite their belief that the probe is investigating something that never happened — alleged collusion by the Trump campaign with Russia.
“We have an investigation of something that never took place,” he said.
Trump added that he has no plans to dismiss Mueller, but that he is eagerly awaiting the findings from the House and Senate investigations into Russia’s 2016 election meddling.
“I mean, I want them to get on with the task,” he said. “But I also want the Senate and the House to come out with their findings.”
Trump has long derided Mueller’s probe, calling it a “witch hunt” and suggesting his team is “biased.”
On Thursday, Trump said he didn’t win the election because of Russia, but because he was a better candidate than Hillary Clinton, the Democrat he defeated in the 2016 election.