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White House: 'No conversation' about firing Mueller

Members of President Donald Trump’s administration have not discussed firing Special Counsel Robert Mueller, White House Legislative Affairs Director Marc Short said Sunday.
William B.Plowman

WASHINGTON – Members of President Donald Trump’s administration have not discussed firing Special Counsel Robert Mueller in the face of growing conservative backlash against his probe into the president’s connections to Russia, White House Legislative Affairs Director Marc Short said Sunday.

“There's no conversation about that whatsoever in the White House,” Short said on “Meet The Press." “You guys keep bringing that up. We've continued to cooperate at every single possible way with that investigation.”

Short’s comments come as conservatives in the media and on Capitol Hill step up their attacks on the Mueller investigation.

Trump criticized the FBI while speaking with reporters on Friday, calling the state of the agency “sad” while referring to released text messages that were critical of him between an attorney and an agent working on the case. Mueller re-assigned the agent after he found out about the critical messages.

Last May, Mueller was appointed to lead the special investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election that’s looking at whether there was any coordination with the Trump campaign. Four people with connections to Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign have so far been charged.

Short also said he believes the investigation has gone on long enough.

“The reality is that this administration has complied in every single possible way with the special counsel, tax payers have spent millions and millions of dollars on this investigation that has not yet proven any sense of collusion with the Russians,” Short said. “I think the American people are ready to turn the page.”

Also on “Meet The Press,” Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.V., a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee that is conducting its own investigation, called Mueller “beyond reproach” and claimed there are no members of his committee who believe there’s a better person to take on the job of special counsel.