Trump denies report he tried to fire special counsel Mueller

[April 12, 2018]    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday denied a newspaper report that he had planned to fire U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller late last year.

Special Counsel Robert Mueller departs after briefing members of the U.S. Senate on his investigation into potential collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., June 21, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts

Mueller has been tasked with investigating allegations of Russian meddling in 2016 U.S. presidential election. U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded that such interference took place, but Moscow denies it.

Mueller is also investigating whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russia, which Trump has denied.

Trump has repeatedly attacked the special counsel investigation, and on Wednesday he blamed it for Washington's frosty relationship with Moscow.

The New York Times reported on Tuesday that he had tried to fire Mueller in December.

On Thursday, Trump denied that report. "If I wanted to fire Robert Mueller in December, as reported by the Failing New York Times, I would have fired him," he said on Twitter.

A bipartisan group of senators put forward legislation on Wednesday to protect Mueller and his investigation, which the Senate Judiciary Committee will consider next week.

(Reporting by Makini Brice; editing by John Stonestreet)

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