Former FBI director appointed special counsel to probe Trump-Russia ties
The US Justice Department appointed former FBI director Robert Mueller as special counsel to investigate alleged Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election and possible collusion between President Donald Trump’s campaign and Moscow, Reuters reports.
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said an independent expert was necessary to follow the investigation. The move followed a week in which the White House was thrown into uproar after Trump fired FBI Director James Comey.
Democrats and some of the president’s fellow Republicans had demanded an independent probe of whether Russia tried to sway the outcome of November’s election in favor of Trump and against Democrat Hillary Clinton.
