Former FBI Director Mueller To Lead Trump-Russia Probe
WASHINGTON (KDKA/AP) — The Justice Department on Wednesday appointed former FBI Director Robert Mueller as a special counsel to oversee a federal investigation into potential coordination between Russia and the Trump campaign during the 2016 presidential election.
The appointment came amid a growing Democratic outcry for someone outside the Justice Department to handle the politically charged investigation.
It followed the revelation Tuesday that fired FBI Director James Comey had written in a memo that Trump, in a February meeting in the Oval Office, had asked him to end an investigation into former national security adviser Michael Flynn. The White House has denied that account.
MORE: DOJ appoints former FBI director Robert Mueller as special counsel for Russia investigation https://t.co/Okz2bwUl4f pic.twitter.com/wuHyRl18ip
— CBS News (@CBSNews) May 17, 2017
MORE DETAILS:
Mueller was appointed FBI director in 2001 and led the FBI through the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terror attacks. He retired in 2013.
The Justice Department said Mueller has resigned from his job at a private law firm to take the job of special counsel.
The Justice Department declined to explain the decision-making involved in the appointment.
Sen. Pat Toomey, a Republican from Pennsylvania has released a statement on Mueller's appointment. It reads in part:
"I look forward to reviewing the findings of Special Counsel Robert Mueller and the findings by the various House and Senate Committees investigating these issues."
In a tweet, Sen. Bob Casey, a Democrat from Pennsylvania, said:
I commend @TheJusticeDept for taking the appropriate step of appointing a special counsel. pic.twitter.com/tBgRzNrMGO
— Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) May 17, 2017
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(© Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
