Trump: did not know that AG Whitaker was critical of Mueller

President Donald Trump said he did not know that Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker had strongly criticized the investigation of Special Advocate Robert Mueller prior to his appointment.

"I did not know it, I did not know that he had taken a stand on the Mueller inquiry as such," Trump told host Chris Wallace during the show. "Fox News Sunday", adding that, when he had read Whitaker's views, he did not "think". it has no effect. "

Attorney General Jeff Sessions resigned at the request of the President, as he apparently would not intend to recuse himself to oversee the investigation and would prevent Mueller from summoning Trpo.

Whitaker has frequently undermined the legitimacy and validity of the Mueller probe in his previous media appearances, echoing one of Trump's most widely used claims that the probe would be a "witch hunt" "and declaring in 2017 that there was no collusion with the Russians. and the Trump campaign. "

"He's right, what do you do when a person is right?" Trump said. "There is no collusion.He was right.I mean, he said so.So he says that there is collusion, I am supposed to take somebody One who says there is "because" then I would not take it for two reasons, but the number one reason is the fact that it would have been wrong. "

Read more:Trump just said that he installed Matthew Whitaker in order to kill the Russian probe

When Wallace referred to Whitaker's record, the program was divided into several parts of the panel, in which Whitaker is represented, stating that he "might consider a scenario in which Jeff Sessions is replaced and the Attorney General does not return not Bob Mueller, he just reduces the budget so low that his investigation stops. "

When Wallace questioned Whitaker's potential reactions to Trump to limit or limit the Mueller investigation, Trump said he would not commit.

"I think he's astute politically – he's a very smart person – a very respected person," Trump said. "He's going to do what's right, I really believe he's going to do what's right."

The chairman of the incoming House Intelligence Committee, Adam Schiff, led last week accusations of Democratic lawmakers expressing on the future of Mueller's investigation under Whitaker. Promising members of Congress were ready to challenge Whitaker's legitimacy and reveal any ulterior motives.

"If he does not recuse himself, if he participates in any way in this inquiry about Russia, we will know if he made any commitments to the President about the 39, investigation, "said Schiff. "It serves as a channel back to the president or his attorneys about the probe, if he does anything to interfere with the probe."

The appointment of Whitaker has brought new concerns about Mueller's investigation, which is expected to enter a new phase as Trump announced Saturday that he would answer questions from the special advocate next week. Although the content of the answers is not clear,

Trump said that he "probably" would not hold for an interview with Mueller because "we have lost enough time for this witch hunt".

Wallace pressed, "What are the chances? One in a hundred?"

"I'm not lucky," Trump said.

"You ran a casino, sir," Wallace said.

"You are right and with great success," Trump said, before adding again that he thought the investigation was over.