--- title: Donald Trump Weighs Firing Robert Mueller: Chris Ruddy description: A close friend of President Trump said on Monday that the President is considering firing Robert Mueller canonical: https://time.com/4815826/chris-ruddy-donald-trump-robert-mueller-fire/ author: Mahita Gajanan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-06-12T23:31:20.000Z article:modified_time: 2023-12-13T06:58:44.000Z article:section: Politics og:title: Chris Ruddy: President Trump Considering Firing Special Counsel Robert Mueller og:description: Trump's close friend said the president is weighing the option og:url: https://time.com/4815826/chris-ruddy-donald-trump-robert-mueller-fire/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt45bfe2145b6e4b2b/6988d15a2dce01c6779ede2a/robert-mueller-special-counsel.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: Mueller Testifies At Senate FBI Oversight Hearing og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Chris Ruddy: President Trump Considering Firing Special Counsel Robert Mueller twitter:description: Trump's close friend said the president is weighing the option twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt45bfe2145b6e4b2b/6988d15a2dce01c6779ede2a/robert-mueller-special-counsel.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Chris Ruddy: President Trump Is Considering Firing Special Counsel Robert Mueller > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ## 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. ## Transcript The FBI's highest priority, national security and [ INAUDIBLE ] threats. 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