Reactions to the Special Counsel investigation of any Russian government efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election have been widely varied and have evolved over time. An initial period of bipartisan support and praise for the selection of former FBI director Robert Mueller to lead the Special Counsel investigation gave way to some degree of partisan division over the scope of the investigation, the composition of the investigative teams, and its findings and conclusions.
While initially enjoying bipartisan support, the investigation quickly became the subject of criticism by Trump and his surrogates in the conservative media, with Sean Hannity eventually proposing it was part of a "deep state" conspiracy against Trump. A number of allegations were raised and almost immediately debunked, including misconduct by investigators, supposed unlawful wire-tapping of Trump Tower during the campaign, improper unmasking of Trump associates on intelligence intercepts, alleged abuse of Carter Page by the FISA court detailed in the Nunes memo, the alleged installation of a mole in the Trump campaign, and the FBI being denied access to DNC servers for forensic analysis purposes.
Initial bipartisan support Mueller's appointment to oversee the investigation immediately garnered widespread support from Democrats and from some Republicans in Congress. Senator Charles Schumer (D–NY) said, "Former Director Mueller is exactly the right kind of individual for this job. I now have significantly greater confidence that the investigation will follow the facts wherever they lead." Senator Dianne Feinstein (D–CA) stated, "Bob was a fine U.S. attorney, a great FBI director and there's no better person who could be asked to perform this function." She added, "He is respected, he is talented and he has the knowledge and ability to do the right thing." Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R–UT) tweeted that "Mueller is a great selection. Impeccable credentials. Should be widely accepted." Much Republican support in Congress was lukewarm: Rep. Peter T. King (R–NY) said "It's fine. I just don't think there is any need for it." Republican former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich tweeted that Mueller is a "superb choice to be special counsel. His reputation is impeccable for honesty and integrity," but less than a month later he tweeted "Republicans are delusional if they think the special counsel is going to be fair."
Former United States Attorney Preet Bharara wrote of the team that "Bob Mueller is recruiting the smartest and most seasoned professionals who have a long track record of independence and excellence". Former special prosecutor Ken Starr, who had investigated Bill Clinton during the Clinton administration, said that the team was "a great, great team of complete professionals". Attorney George T. Conway III, husband of Counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway, wrote an article defending the constitutionality of the Mueller Investigation.
Conservative opposition Some conservatives, including political commentators Laura Ingraham, Ann Coulter, and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, stated that Mueller should be dismissed and the investigation closed. Christopher Ruddy, the founder of the right-leaning Newsmax, and a friend of Trump, stated that the president has considered firing Mueller.
Conservatives, especially Trump himself, have promoted a conspiracy theory claiming that, for example, that members of Mueller's team were "all Hillary Clinton supporters, some of them worked for Hillary Clinton" (PolitiFact rated this "Mostly False"). and that the investigation was the work of the "deep state".
Opposition to the investigation
Throughout 2017 and 2018, Trump and his allies in Congress and the media promulgated a series of false narratives to assert that the FBI, Justice Department and Mueller investigation have been engaged in an elaborate, corrupt conspiracy against Trump. Among other things, Trump has characterized the Mueller investigation as a "rigged Russia witch hunt," while prominent Trump supporter Sean Hannity has described it as "the biggest corruption scandal in American history." On May 29, 2018, Trump went so far as to assert that the Mueller investigation intended to meddle in the 2018 midterm elections, an accusation Hannity reinforced on his Fox News show that night, saying Mueller "wants to derail many pro-Trump Republicans in the midterms." In a two-minute monologue that same day, Fox News anchorman Shepard Smith flatly debunked that assertion and a number of other Trump narratives, saying, "you laugh at them because there's almost nothing else you can do."
Amid concerns that Trump might attempt to halt the investigation by having Mueller dismissed, some members of Congress have supported a bipartisan bill designed to protect Mueller. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced on April 17, 2018, that such a bill was not necessary and he would not allow it to come to the Senate floor for a vote. Nevertheless, the chairman of the Republican-controlled Senate Judiciary Committee Chuck Grassley announced on April 19, 2018, that his committee would vote on the measure the following week. The bill cleared the committee on April 26, with four Republicans joining all ten Democrats in a 14–7 vote, but McConnell repeated he would not bring the bill to the floor for a vote.
Administration actions against investigation Trump reportedly asked White House Counsel Donald McGahn in April 2017 to call acting deputy attorney general Dana Boente—who was supervising the Russia probe at the time, before Mueller's appointment—and get him to persuade Comey to announce that Trump was not personally under investigation. McGahn made the call but failed to convince Boente that Comey should make the statement.
In June 2017, Trump reportedly tried to fire Mueller, according to several independent accounts published in January 2018. The reports said that Trump told McGahn to fire Mueller; that McGahn refused, saying that to do so would have a catastrophic effect on Trump's presidency; and that Trump then backed off. The New York Times reported that McGahn said he would resign rather than carry out the order, while CNN said McGahn did not directly threaten to resign, and Fox News said Trump was persuaded not to carry out the action by McGahn and other aides. The New York Times report said that Trump cited three conflicts of interest on Mueller's part to justify the dismissal: a years-old dispute over fees at Trump National Golf Club; the fact that Mueller had most recently worked for the law firm that previously represented Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner; and the fact that Mueller had been interviewed to return as FBI Director the day before he was appointed special counsel. According to CNN, another reason Trump wanted to fire Mueller was Trump's perception that Mueller was close friends with Comey, although others have described them as professional acquaintances from having simultaneously worked in the Justice Department during the George W. Bush presidency. In August 2017, Trump said he had never thought about firing Mueller, and by December 2017, he had denied it twice more; in that time period his lawyers and advisers also issued five similar denials. By January 2018, Trump and his surrogates had denied that he had considered firing Mueller a total of eight times. Trump dismissed the January 2018 The New York Times story as "fake news". McGahn was interviewed by Mueller's investigators on November 30, 2017.
Also, in June 2017, Trump reportedly instructed his aides to start a campaign for his administration and his Republican allies to discredit potential witnesses in the investigation, including FBI officials Andrew McCabe, Jim Rybicki, and James Baker. The three men had been identified by Comey as his confidants. The instruction was reported in January 2018 by Foreign Policy. Trump's lead attorney John Dowd disputed the accuracy of the report.
In early December 2017, Trump sought to fire Mueller, according to an April 2018 report in The New York Times, but stopped after learning the news reports he based his decision on were incorrect. In January 2018, CNN reported that Trump was unhappy with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who oversees the Mueller investigation. Trump reportedly talked about wanting to fire Rosenstein and proposed firing him, before being persuaded otherwise by his advisers.
In April 2018, following an FBI raid on the office and home of Trump's private attorney Michael Cohen, Trump, for the first time, spoke openly about firing Mueller, saying that "many people" had advised him to do so and "We'll see what happens." Under Department of Justice regulations, that authority can only be exercised by Rosenstein, the DOJ official in charge of the special counsel investigation, but White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said that Trump believes he has the power to do it directly, although he is not currently acting to do so.
According to a Washington Post tally, by August 21 Trump had fired or threatened over half of the officials with leadership roles in the investigation. Speaking to Reuters on that date he said,“I can go in, and I could do whatever — I could run it if I want. But I decided to stay out. I’m totally allowed to be involved if I wanted to be. So far, I haven’t chosen to be involved.”
Donald Trump attacks on investigation On March 17, 2018, Trump appeared to abandon his attorneys' advice to avoid directly criticizing the Mueller investigation, tweeting that the "Mueller probe should never have been started" and that it was a "WITCH HUNT!" He also claimed that "there was tremendous leaking, lying and corruption at the highest levels of the FBI, Justice & State." The next day, he questioned how "fair" it was that "the Mueller team have 13 hardened Democrats, some big Crooked Hillary supporters, and Zero Republicans". Trump did not note that Mueller himself is a Republican, as is the man who appointed him, Rod Rosenstein—who was appointed by Trump. This was the first time he had criticized Mueller by name, alarming many prominent Republicans, who cautioned Trump not to criticize Mueller or give any appearance that he was contemplating having Mueller dismissed; they warned of dire repercussions if he did. Presidential lawyer Ty Cobb later stated that the president "is not considering or discussing" firing Mueller.
Trump also said that the "witch hunt" that began "right after I won the nomination" is "an attack on our country in a true sense. It's an attack on what we all stand for." In May 2018, Trump tweeted that the special counsel probe, led by "13 Angry Democrats", was investigating him on "obstruction for a made up, phony crime". He declared that there was no obstruction, only him "fighting back". He maintained the "witch hunt" narrative throughout the Mueller investigation and into the 2019 impeachment inquiry.
In response to Mueller's death in March 2026, Trump wrote in a Truth Social post: "Good, I'm glad he's dead. He can no longer hurt innocent people!"
By Trump's lawyers and allies