On Anniversary of Mueller’s Appointment, Trump Calls the Probe a “Witch Hunt”

He also espoused a conspiracy theory that he called “bigger than Watergate.”

Olivier Douliery/ZUMA

Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.

On Wednesday, President Donald Trump marked the one-year anniversary of the Justice Department’s appointment of Robert Mueller as special counsel with a sarcastic tweet blasting the ongoing probe into ties between Trump’s campaign and Russia as the “greatest witch hunt in American history.” The president also repeated his claim that there is no evidence of collusion or obstruction. 

Since Mueller’s appointment, the investigation has produced five guilty pleas and 17 additional indictments. Trump has repeatedly attacked Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who appointed Mueller to the role of special counsel, both publicly and privately, and has threatened to “get involved” in the Justice Department. He also reportedly ordered the firing of Mueller but was thwarted when White House Counsel Don McGahn threatened to resign.

Referring to a recent column in the conservative National Review that suggested the FBI spied on his campaign, Trump on Wednesday also continued to gin up conspiracy theories that the Obama administration may have illegally surveilled him during the election. He called the theory “bigger than Watergate.”

DONALD TRUMP & DEMOCRACY

Mother Jones was founded to do journalism differently. We stand for justice and democracy. We reject false equivalence. We go after stories others don’t. We’re a nonprofit newsroom, because the kind of truth-telling investigations we do doesn’t happen under corporate ownership.

And we need your support like never before, to fight back against the existential threats American democracy faces. Fundraising for nonprofit media is always a challenge, and we need all hands on deck right now. We have no cushion; we leave it all on the field.

It’s reader support that enables Mother Jones to report the facts that are too difficult, expensive, or inconvenient for other news outlets to uncover. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

payment methods

DONALD TRUMP & DEMOCRACY

Mother Jones was founded to do journalism differently. We stand for justice and democracy. We reject false equivalence. We go after stories others don’t. We’re a nonprofit newsroom, because the kind of truth-telling investigations we do doesn’t happen under corporate ownership.

And we need your support like never before, to fight back against the existential threats American democracy faces. Fundraising for nonprofit media is always a challenge, and we need all hands on deck right now. We have no cushion; we leave it all on the field.

It’s reader support that enables Mother Jones to report the facts that are too difficult, expensive, or inconvenient for other news outlets to uncover. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

payment methods

We Recommend

Latest

Sign up for our free newsletter

Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily to have our top stories delivered directly to your inbox.

Get our award-winning magazine

Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights.

Subscribe

Support our journalism

Help Mother Jones' reporters dig deep with a tax-deductible donation.

Donate