--- ---  # Chris Ruddy: President Trump Is Considering Firing Special Counsel Robert Mueller ## Video: Former FBI Chief Robert Mueller Appointed as Special Counsel to Oversee Russia Investigation [Watch (HLS stream): Former FBI Chief Robert Mueller Appointed as Special Counsel to Oversee Russia Investigation](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/9beqyKNa.m3u8) (1:06)  _Published 2017-05-17. Besieged from all sides, the Trump administration appointed former FBI Director Robert Mueller Wednesday evening as a special counsel to oversee the federal investigation into allegations Russia and Donald Trump's campaign collaboration._ by [Mahita Gajanan](https://time.com/author/mahita-gajanan/) ## Mahita Gajanan Gajanan is an editor at TIME. Updated: Dec 13, 2023 6:58 AM UTCPublished: Jun 12, 2017 11:31 PM UTC  Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Robert Mueller testifies during a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee June 19, 2013 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Robert Mueller testifies during a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee June 19, 2013 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC.Alex Wong—Getty Images by [Mahita Gajanan](https://time.com/author/mahita-gajanan/) ## Mahita Gajanan Gajanan is an editor at TIME. Updated: Dec 13, 2023 6:58 AM UTCPublished: Jun 12, 2017 11:31 PM UTC A close friend of [President Trump](http://time.com/4815754/donald-trump-cabinet-meeting-praise-reince-priebus-chuck-schumer/) said on Monday that the President is considering firing [Robert Mueller](http://time.com/4783504/robert-mueller-russia-investigation-special-counsel-fbi/), the special counsel who is leading the federal investigation into alleged ties between the Trump campaign and Russia. Chris Ruddy, CEO of Newsmax Media and a longtime Trump friend, told PBS’s Judy Woodruff that Trump is weighing whether to fire Mueller. “I think he’s considering perhaps terminating the special counsel. I think he’s weighing that option,” Ruddy said on PBS NewsHour. > [](https://twitter.com/NewsHour/status/874398128937418752) “I personally think it would be a very significant mistake,” Ruddy said, adding that he didn’t believe that a special counsel is justified in this case. Ruddy’s comment comes a day after one of Trump’s attorneys, Jay Sekulow, failed to [rule out](http://www.politico.com/story/2017/06/11/trump-mueller-special-counsel-239396) the possibility that the president would fire the special counsel. Mueller was named as special counsel to oversee the [Russia investigation](http://time.com/4814033/lindsey-graham-trump-russia-investigation/) in May. Regarding Ruddy’s statement, White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said: “Chris speaks for himself.” > [](https://twitter.com/jaketapper/status/874422879047360514) Neither the White House nor the Justice Department immediately returned TIME’s requests for comment. 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