WASHINGTON _ President Donald Trump doesn't seem to be responding well to the appointment of a special counsel to head the investigation into whether anyone tied to his campaign cooperated in Russian efforts to affect the outcome of the 2016 election.
As usual, he took to Twitter to express his thoughts _ and send a message to his followers.
"With all of the illegal acts that took place in the Clinton campaign & Obama Administration, there was never a special councel appointed!" the president tweeted. A few minutes later, he added: "This is the single greatest witch hunt of a politician in American history!"
His reaction undercut the carefully measured statement the White House issued last night after Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein announced that Robert Mueller, the former head of the FBI, would head the investigation.
That statement in Trump's name said nothing specifically about the special counsel, but declared that "as I have stated many times, a thorough investigation will confirm what we already know _ there was no collusion between my campaign and any foreign entity,"
Rosenstein's announcement took White House officials by surprise. He did not inform either the White House or Attorney General Jeff Sessions about the appointment of Mueller until after the order had been signed.
Rosenstein heads to Capitol Hill today to give senators a briefing about the investigation.
