President Donald Trump has sent “Appreciation” messages through his attorney John Dowd to Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller, who investigates possible ties to his campaign with Russia in the 2016 presidential election.
Trump “Appreciates what Bob Mueller is doing. He asked me to share that with him (Mueller) and that’s what I’ve done,” Dowd said in an interview with USA Today today.
The legal team of the president has been in contact with the office of Mueller, confirmed the lawyer, who insisted that in that context he transmitted to the special prosecutor the messages of “appreciation and greetings” of the president.
“We get along well with Bob Mueller, and our communications have been constructive, but it’s important that our communications remain confidential,” he said. “It’s important that there was no break in our confidence.”
Trump was widely criticized for having contacts with the former director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) James Comey, who was fired last May for his handling of the investigation of alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election and The alleged links of his campaign with the Kremlin.
The Republican ruler spoke several times with Comey, breaking the presidential tradition of not trying to influence in the investigation of the forces of the order.
In those conversations, according to Comey, Trump tried to persuade him to remove parts of the Russian plot investigation and even demanded loyalty, which led to the designation of Mueller, another ex-director of the FBI, as special prosecutor for the investigation.
The president has called the investigation “farce” and “witch-hunt” and his collaborators have criticized Mueller, which has sparked rumors in Washington about the possibility of the president dismissing the special prosecutor.
However, Dowd remarked today that the dismissal of the prosecutor “has never been on the table.”
“My dealings with Bob Mueller have always been cordial, respectful, as they should be,” he added.
Numerous lawmakers, including some Republicans, have voiced concern over a possible dismissal of Mueller following Trump’s recent attacks on Attorney General Jeff Sessions for inhibiting investigation into the Russian plot.
Sessions was inhibited last March after he was known to have encounters he later tried to hide with the Russian ambassador in Washington during last year’s election campaign.
The harshness of Trump’s criticism of Sessions aroused fears that he might want to remove him or force his resignation.
The president can not stop Mueller directly, but he can dismiss Sessions and replace him with someone more flexible who could take away the special prosecutor.
At the moment, Sessión has refused to resign after the attacks of Trump, who in turn has stopped reproaching him in public.
Last month, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham warned that any Trump move against Mueller could be “the beginning of the end of Trump’s presidency.”
Last week news broke that the investigation into Russia that Mueller leads has acquired enough entity to merit the formation of a grand jury.
The formation of a grand jury, which allows you to require documents and take oaths to witnesses, is a sign that Russian research carries more weight than the president would like.
Fear that Trump might bring about the removal of the special prosecutor has led to two bipartisan bills being tabled last week in the Senate to avoid that.
