High-profile supporters of President Donald Trump are turning on special counsel Robert Mueller, the man charged with investigating Russian interference in the US election and possible collusion with Trump's campaign.
"I think he's weighing that option", Ruddy said in an interview Monday with Judy Woodruff of "PBS NewsHour".
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who appointed Mueller, hinted broadly that the special counsel investigation could be looking at Trump during a House committee hearing on Tuesday.
Let's also recall that despite the media's tunnel vision on Trump, the wider Russian Federation investigation is examining a much wider array of issues and questions pertaining to our geopolitical adversary's malicious meddling efforts in the 2016 election.
Former FBI Director James Comey suggested in testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee last week that Mueller would consider whether a crime was committed when Trump allegedly told him, "I hope you can let this go", referring to an investigation into former national security adviser Michael Flynn.
Tuesday morning, Trump supporter Ari Fleischer, who served as President George W. Bush's press secretary, again highlighted the issue of Mueller's probe being handled by attorneys who have donated mostly to Democrats, a message that Donald Trump Jr. quickly retweeted to his own 1.7 million followers. "I'm not talking about anything else", Trump added. Such a move would create a firestorm coming weeks after Trump fired FBI Director James Comey. The president has the constitutional authority to fire a Special Counsel. But he told The Palm Beach Post his comment that Trump was "considering" firing Mueller was based on conversations with "a half dozen people familiar w pres thinking on the matter". "Mueller is going to have the full degree of independence he needs to conduct that investigation appropriately", Rosenstein said.
The latest White House crisis struck on the evening of Mr Trump's 71st birthday, after a day in which he had won plaudits for his handling of the shooting of Republican Congressman Steve Scalise.
Adding to the atmosphere of intrigue was a tweet Monday from Trump ally Newt Gingrich saying it's "time to rethink" Mueller as special council.
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Prosecutors tried to paint the calls as business-related, because Cosby was a Temple trustee and Constand was an employee. Constand was joined by her mother in court for Thursday's announcement of a deadlock, BBC News reported.
"I think he's considering perhaps terminating the special counsel", Ruddy said on the program.
Even so, Gingrich said, Trump won't seek to dismiss Mueller because he's confident the probe will conclude he's done nothing wrong.
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Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said Tuesday that Trump called him Monday night because of Gingrich's concerns about the Russian Federation probe.
"No effort to deliver message, I can and do speak (with) him confidentially on issues I think important", Ruddy said Tuesday in a text message exchange with The Palm Beach Post.
Mueller is known to be close friends with former Federal Bureau of Investigation director James Comey, whose credibility he would have to weigh against the president's if Mueller made a decision to probe whether Trump committed obstruction of justice by expressing the hope that Comey would be lenient with former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.
Republicans in Congress are also shaking off the notion that Trump could fire Mueller.
Looking into whether Trump obstructed justice means that Mueller is also examining the circumstances surrounding Comey's firing, which was obviously not part of the original federal probe led by Comey when he still had a job as FBI director.
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