United States President Donald Trump is not convinced that special counsel Robert Mueller can be impartial as he leads the investigation into Russia's meddling in last year's US elections. Mueller is also investigating possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.
Clinton supporters
In an interview aired on Friday morning by Fox News, Trump claimed that Mueller is close friends with former FBI Director James Comey. Comey, Mueller's successor at the spy agency, was fired by Trump on May 9 this year. President Trump later admitted that he made the decision to fire Comey with the Russia inquiry in mind.During the George Walker Bush presidency, Mueller headed the Bureau, while Comey was deputy attorney general.
Trump also accused Mueller of employing Hillary Clinton supporters as his staffers. Recent reports have claimed that some the said staffers have contributed funds to Democratic Party candidates. Trump, however, refused to state whether he believes that Mueller should recuse himself from the Russia investigation, choosing instead to adopt a wait-and-see approach. Trump did, however, describe the special counsel as a man of honor.
Comey tapes
On the issue of whether he recorded his private conversations with former FBI boss James Comey, Trump said that his account of the events has always been straight. The President repeated his Thursday comments that he never made tapes of his discussions with Comey.In the past, Trump has denied allegations that he has asked for Comey's allegiance during a meeting.
Shrinking popularity
And Trump seems to be losing the confidence of many Americans, at least according to recent opinion polls. A recent survey shows that forty-five percent of those interviewed are more likely to believe Comey's account of the events leading to his firing. Twenty-two percent are more apt to trust Donald Trump's version of the events.
Twenty-one percent of the respondents say they believe neither Trump nor Comey, while eight percent believe the two of them. In the survey that was conducted by the NBC/WSJ, forty-six percent of the respondents disapprove of President Trump's decision to fire Comey. The figure has increased from thirty-eight percent in May.
Trump fired Comey on May 19. At the time, the Trump administration initially claimed that the decision was taken because of how the former FBI boss handled the Hillary Clinton email inquiry in the run-up to the 2016 presidential poll. However, Trump later said that he fired Comey due to the Bureau's investigation into Russia's interference in the presidential vote and whether there was collusion between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin.
