Editor-at-Large of The Weekly Standard Bill Kristol accused President Donald Trump of trying to “shut down” the Russia investigation Tuesday, despite the White House’s continued cooperation with special counsel Robert Mueller.
“The president hates the investigation. He fears it, and he wants to shut it down or curb it as much as he can,” Kristol said on MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports.”
“It may be that he intends to fire Mueller,” Kristol added. “Trump is trying systematically to discredit the FBI … and he’s doing so by attacking individuals, by attacking the whole organization, by saying the whole thing is a witch hunt. I think he fears it and wants to end it as much as he can.”
White House counsel Ty Cobb denied any plans to dismiss Mueller as special counsel. “As the White House has said for months, there is no consideration being given to firing the Special Counsel,” he told The Daily Caller.
Trump also said he was not concerned about former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn cooperating with Mueller earlier in December and maintained there was still no evidence of collusion.
“What has been shown is no collusion, no collusion. There has been absolutely no collusion, so we’re very happy,” Trump said.
Kristol also believes any Republicans who defend the president on Russia are being used as puppets and said they are only doing further damage to the country.
“They’re being used by the president,” he said. “They’re playing into the president’s hands. They’re being allies to the president in something that I think will do a lot of damage to the country.”
“I think the president knows he has something to worry about and is doing his best to fight back,” Kristol concluded.
