Mueller is also tasked with investigating "any matters that arose or may arise directly from the investigation," which would include Trump's controversial firing of FBI chief James Comey.
Trump says he fired Comey because he was displeased with the director's "poor performance" when speaking before the Senate earlier this month. The President also referred to a letter written by Rosenstein, in which the Deputy Attorney General was critical of Comey.
President Trump reacted furiously to the appointment of Mueller, who is authorized, as special counsel, to bring criminal charges if he believes they are warranted.
This is the single greatest witch hunt of a politician in American history!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 18, 2017
Alexander Domrin, expert in American affairs from the Russian Higher School of Economics, told Radio Sputnik that the appointment demonstrates the extent of opposition to Trump in the US establishment.
"The position of special counsel is a rare one and has an unlimited budget during the investigation … Accusations about Trump were being made literally days after he was elected, a long time before he took office. But now, it is really alarming that not only journalists or Harvard lawyers are making accusations. Now, the Democrats will try to use any accusations against Trump," Domrin said.
"In no way did Russia influence Americans' choice, they were simply tired of this dominance of the 'liberoids,' the 'Clintonoids' in American politics, they voted for Trump themselves. However, Trump's revolution is now facing a counter-revolution, and the saddest thing is that is not only undermines Trump's position, but the foundations of the US state."
"America has been 'hijacked,' it belongs to the globalists, those same people who supported Barack Obama when he was elected, that project was absolutely clear project."
"But Trump is not a project. In this sense, he has declared war on the globalists and the globalists have declared war on him. This is a fight to the death and while Trump is forced to back away from some of his election promises, he has not yet bowed. And that is the most devastating thing for these globalists and they will do everything to remove him from power," Domrin concluded.
