By Devlin Barrett, Sara Horwitz and Matt Zapotosky, National Security, May 18, 2017<\/p>\n
The Justice Department appointed a special counsel Wednesday to investigate possible coordination between President Trump\u2019s associates and Russian officials \u2014 a clear signal to the White House that federal investigators will aggressively pursue the matter despite the president\u2019s insistence that there was no \u201ccollusion\u2019\u2019 with the Kremlin.<\/p>\n
Robert S. Mueller III, a former prosecutor who served as the FBI director from 2001 to 2013, has agreed to take over the investigation as a special counsel, Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein announced. The move marks a concession by the Trump administration to Democratic demands for the investigation to be run independently of the Justice Department. Calls for a special counsel intensified after Trump fired FBI Director James B. Comey<\/a>last week.<\/p>\n [Everything you need to know about the Russia investigation\u2019s \u2018special counsel\u2019<\/a>]<\/i><\/p>\n \u201cIn my capacity as acting attorney general I determined that it is in the public interest for me to exercise my authority and appoint a special counsel to assume responsibility for this matter,\u2019\u2019 Rosenstein said in a statement. \u201cMy decision is not a finding that crimes have been committed or that any prosecution is warranted. I have made no such determination. What I have determined is that based upon the unique circumstances the public interest requires me to place this investigation under the authority of a person who exercises a degree of independence from the normal chain of command.\u201d<\/p>\n Mueller, often described by those who worked for him as a stern and press-averse disciplinarian, issued a characteristically terse statement: \u201cI accept this responsibility and will discharge it to the best of my ability.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n Trump reacted to the news by saying \u201ca thorough investigation will confirm what we already know \u2014 there was no collusion between my campaign and any foreign entity. I look forward to this matter concluding quickly. In the meantime, I will never stop fighting for the people and the issues that matter most to the future of our country.\u201d<\/p>\n In a series of tweets early Thursday, Trump decried that a special counsel was not named to investigate what he alleged were \u201cillegal acts\u201d by the Obama administration and the campaign of Hillary Clinton.<\/p>\n \u201cWith all of the illegal acts that took place in the Clinton campaign & Obama Administration, there was never a special councel appointed!,\u201d Trump wrote, misspelling the word counsel.<\/p>\n Less than 15 minutes later, he tweeted: \u201cThis is the single greatest witch hunt of a politician in American history!\u201d<\/p>\n The White House did not learn of Rosenstein\u2019s decision until just 30 minutes before the public announcement was made. Rosenstein called White House Counsel Donald McGahn at 5:30 p.m. to inform him, at which point McGahn walked downstairs from his second-floor office to the Oval Office to notify Trump.<\/p>\n Trump summoned his senior staff to the Oval Office, and together they drafted a statement reacting to the decision, coming from the president, that was distributed to reporters shortly after 7 p.m.<\/p>\n One senior White House official who was present for the discussions described Trump as \u201cunbelievably calm and measured.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI expected him to be ranting and raving, but he was like, \u2018Fine, let them do what they have to do, but we\u2019ll be focused on our agenda,\u2019\u2008\u201d said this official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the private talks.<\/p>\n Democrats cheered the announcement as a step forward in resolving the unanswered questions about Russian meddling in last year\u2019s presidential election \u2014 and whether the president or anyone at the White House has interfered with the investigation.<\/p>\n [Here\u2019s how an independent investigation into Trump and Russia would happen<\/a>]<\/i><\/p>\n Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said Mueller \u201chas the expertise and experience, guts and backbone to uncover the truth.\u2019\u2019 He said Mueller must be given all the resources necessary to \u201cpursue the facts wherever they lead,\u2019\u2019 including whether anyone may have tried to obstruct justice.<\/p>\n Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, cheered the choice, writing on Twitter: \u201cImpeccable credentials. Should be widely accepted.\u201d<\/p>\n But some Democrats said Mueller\u2019s appointment does not preclude the need for an independent commission to examine Russian interference in the election.<\/p>\n \u201cAn independent commission doesn\u2019t govern the FBI investigation, an independent commission doesn\u2019t make charging decisions,\u201d said Rep. Adam B. Schiff (Calif.), the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, which is conducting its own probe of Russian meddling. \u201cThe value an independent commission adds is you have a body that is truly independent of any political consideration. And also has all the resources it needs and a single focus on the oversight of what Russia did, how we need to respond in the future, and it brings that political independence and staff and resources on task. So those are two different needs, and I think they\u2019re complementary, not in competition with each other.\u201d<\/p>\n The special counsel law grants Mueller the authority to probe possible attempts to stymie his investigation.<\/p>\n The decision to appoint a special counsel comes a day after revelations that notes taken by Comey in February<\/a> recount a conversation with the president in which Trump asked him to drop an investigation into his former national security adviser, Michael Flynn. Associates of Comey said he took detailed notes of multiple conversations with the president, and lawmakers are now demanding access to those memos and any other related records held at the FBI.<\/p>\n The decision also comes amid intense pressure on the senior official who has been overseeing the Russia probe, Rosenstein, to appoint a special counsel.<\/p>\n Rosenstein was put in charge of the Russia probe after Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself<\/a>. Democrats have challenged Rosenstein\u2019s impartiality in the Russia probe because he wrote a memorandum initially used as the rationale for Comey\u2019s firing. In the memo, Rosenstein said Comey had violated long-standing Justice Department practices in his handling of the investigation into Clinton\u2019s use of a private email server, but shortly after the announcement of the firing, the president said he had decided to fire Comey before he received the recommendation from Rosenstein.<\/p>\n Rosenstein is scheduled to brief the full Senate in a closed session on Thursday.<\/p>\n Former colleagues said Rosenstein\u2019s move may help restore his battered reputation among current and former government lawyers. \u201cHe got absolutely pummeled by people that he knows,\u201d said a former senior Obama administration lawyer, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to talk candidly. \u201cI think this move, as so often happens in Washington, where there is the opportunity to wash away your sins, was a thorough scrubbing.\u201d<\/p>\n Under the order signed Wednesday by Rosenstein, Mueller is tasked with investigating \u201cany links and\/or coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the campaign of President Donald Trump\u2019\u2019 as well as \u201cany matters that arose or may arise directly from the investigation\u2019\u2019 and any other matters that fall under the scope of the Justice Department regulation covering special counsel appointments.<\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t immediately clear from the language of the order where Mueller might draw the lines as to which matters are related to the Russia investigation.<\/p>\n That language seems to suggest that Mueller could also take over ongoing investigations into leaks of classified information connected to the Russia probe. As the FBI director, Mueller assiduously discouraged leaks by his subordinates and oversaw investigations that sought to criminally charge leakers of government secrets.<\/p>\n \u201cIf the special counsel believes it is necessary and appropriate, the special counsel is authorized to prosecute federal crimes arising from the investigation of these matters,\u2019\u2019 the order states.<\/p>\n