A lawyer for President Donald Trump’s transition team has accused special counsel Robert Mueller of unlawfully obtaining emails for his investigation into the alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 US election.
Kory Langhofer, a counsel to the transition team known as Trump for America, sent a letter Saturday to the main House and Senate oversight committees where he raises potential violations of attorney-client privilege and the Fourth Amendment, which protects against unlawful search and seizure, according to Politico.
Mueller’s investigation obtained the records from the General Services Administration (GSA) earlier this summer. Trump’s transition team used GSA facilities during the period between his victory in the November 2016 election and his inauguration in January.
Career staff members at the agency "unlawfully produced TFA’s private materials, including privileged communications, to the Special Counsel’s Office," according to the letter, a copy of which has been seen by Reuters.
Among those officials was former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, who pleaded guilty to charges of lying to Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agents about his contacts with Russian officials earlier this month.
Langhofer also asked Congress to act to "protect future presidential transitions from having their private records misappropriated by government agencies, particularly in the context of sensitive investigations intersecting with political motives."
The letter has added to a recent series of statements by Trump supporters, challenging the Mueller investigation.
READ MORE: 'De-Legitimization Campaign'? Mueller's Probe Attacked by Trump Supporters
Asked for comment, White House spokesperson Sarah Sanders said: "We continue to cooperate fully with the special counsel and expect this process to wrap up soon."
Mueller’s investigation was launched in May to look into evidence that Russia allegedly attempted to influence the results of the 2016 US presidential election, a claim that has been repeatedly denied by Moscow.
Trump has also denied the allegations, saying there was no collusion between his team and the Russian government.
Despite thousands of hours wasted and many millions of dollars spent, the Democrats have been unable to show any collusion with Russia — so now they are moving on to the false accusations and fabricated stories of women who I don’t know and/or have never met. FAKE NEWS!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) 12 декабря 2017 г.
As part on the ongoing investigation, Flynn has pleaded guilty to charges that he made false statements to the FBI about his contacts with then-Russian ambassador to the US Sergei Kislyak.
Flynn is the fourth member of the Trump campaign to face charges in the ongoing Russia probe, which has been called a "witch hunt" by Trump, along with former campaign manager Paul Manafort, his business associate Rick Gates and former foreign policy adviser George Papadopolous.
