White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders has claimed she is unaware of any plans by President Donald Trump to dismiss Special Counsel Robert Mueller or Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.
Her comments, in an interview with ABC's This Week, come less than a week after the president suggested he had been told by "many people" to fire Mueller.
"I'm not aware of any plans to make those movements," Sanders told host, ABC News Chief Anchor George Stephanopoulos when asked whether Trump had plans to dismiss Mueller or Rosenstein.
"Look, the president has been extremely cooperative, as have a number of members of the administration. Everything that's been asked of us we've provided. And we're continuing to be cooperative. But we do have some real concerns with some of the activities and some of the scope that the investigation has gone," she added.
The president has been notoriously critical of Mueller's investigation into Russia's alleged attempt to influence the U.S. election, and potential collusion between Russia and Trump's team.
Indeed, over the past month the president has become increasingly vocal about his frustration with the investigation, tweeting about the matter on a number of occasions.
And following an FBI raid on his personal lawyer Michael Cohen that Cohen's lawyer said came following a referral from Mueller, Trump told reporters, "I think it's a disgrace what's going on. We'll see what happens…. Many people have said, 'You should fire [Mueller].'"
Huckabee Sanders herself also confirmed during a press briefing last week that the president "certainly believes he has the power" to fire Mueller, in a comment that prompted concern from Democrats.
And following confirmation from the Department of Justice that Cohen has been "under criminal investigation" for months over his business dealings, CNN reported, Huckabee Sanders also spoke out the president's relationship with Cohen.
"He's had a long relationship with Michael Cohen, he's going to continue to have that relationship," Huckabee Sanders told This Week.
"The president is very confident in the fact that he has done nothing wrong and he can't speak on behalf of anyone else, but he's very confident in what he has and hasn't done. And he's going to continue focusing and fighting for the American people," he added.
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