--- 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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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=8ac79315-e983-40c3-97a9-914c0b2e89da&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## 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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