President Trump on Sunday said he will not consider firing special counsel Robert Mueller as his administration faces questions over whether they're trying to put an end to the investigation into Russian election meddling.
"No, I'm not," he said when asked by a reporter.
He was also asked about emails Mueller's team obtained on members of his transition team.
"Not looking good, it's not looking good. It's quite sad to see that. My people were very upset about it," Trump said.
"I can't imagine there's anything on them frankly because as we've said there's no collusion, no collusion," he added.
Kory Langhofer, the general counsel for the president's transition group Trump for America, wrote a letter to two congressional committees accusing Mueller's team of improperly obtaining the emails through the General Services Administration. He said GSA's disclosure of the emails, which are being "actively" used, was "unauthorized."
Mueller's office defended their investigation, however, with spokesman Peter Carr saying, “When we have obtained emails in the course of our ongoing criminal investigation, we have secured either the account owner’s consent or appropriate criminal process."
Trump’s comments come as Republicans have ramped up pressure on the Mueller probe, saying there are signs of ant-Trump bias.
Text messages surfaced last week between FBI agent Peter Strzok and colleague Lisa Page criticizing Trump during the presidential campaign.
Strzok, who was dismissed from Mueller's team earlier this year, had said Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) was "an idiot like Trump," while Page called Trump "a loathsome human."
"God, Hillary should win 100,000,000-0," Strzok said in another message to Page.
Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Oh.) revealed on Saturday that he received an assurance from House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) that subpoenas would be issued for various senior FBI and Justice Department officials, including Strozk and Page.
However, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy said on Sunday that the courts are responsible for handling complaints against Mueller. (The Hill)
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White House lawyer Ty Cobb also dismissed reports last week that the president would fire Mueller.
"As the White House has repeatedly and emphatically said for months, there is no consideration at the White House of terminating the special counsel,” Cobb said in a statement.
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