President Donald Trump ordered the firing of Special Counsel Robert Mueller last June, the New York Times reported Thursday.
Citing “four people told of the matter,” the Times said Trump ultimately backed off following a threat from White House counsel to resign. The Washington Post subsequently matched that story, citing two sources.
Mueller himself learned about the president’s withdrawn directive in recent months, according to the report.
“We decline to comment out of respect for the Office of the Special Counsel and its process,” Ty Cobb, an attorney for the president, told the New York Times in a statement.
Former FBI Director Mueller is investigating Russian efforts to influence the 2016 election and whether the Trump campaign colluded with the Kremlin. The probe has dogged and frustrated Trump, and has also moved into whether the president has obstructed the investigation.
Others suggested last year that the president was thinking about firing Mueller, with one ally telling PBS in June that Trump was “considering perhaps terminating the special counsel. I think he’s weighing that option.”
This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.
