US President Donald Trump announced he is under investigation and appeared to attack a senior Department of Justice official Friday.
As Bob Mueller, the special investigator now heading the FBI’s probe into allegations of Russian election meddling, filled out his legal team and prepared to begin interviews, Trump erupted furiously for a second consecutive day.
“I am being investigated for firing the FBI Director by the man who told me to fire the FBI Director! Witch Hunt” he tweeted from the White House shortly before leaving for Miami.
Trump’s digital volley appeared to be trained at Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who recommended the firing last month of James Comey — an almost unprecedented move that could yet imperil Trump’s presidency.
A source on Trump’s legal team claimed the president was referring to a Washington Post story “from the other night” rather than confirming he is being investigated.
The Washington Post was one of several media that revealed this week that Trump himself is being investigated on allegations of obstructing justice.
Inside the White House, a sense of foreboding has taken hold on even the most junior staff and up to the Oval Office, as news emerged that Vice President Mike Pence has hired a high-powered outside counsel to represent him.
An aide on Thursday said Pence had hired Richard Cullen who litigated the 1980s Iran-Contra scandal, the Watergate affair and the 2000 vote recount in Florida.
The vice-president, who was also in Miami, described his move to hire an outside lawyer as “very routine.”
Special counsel Mueller — a respected former FBI director — was also bringing in legal firepower to investigate whether there was collusion between Trump’s team and Russia to fix the 2016 election or an attempted cover-up.
Peter Carr, a spokesman for Mueller told AFP he now has “13 attorneys on board, with several more in the pipeline.”
