Special counsel Robert Mueller has hired 13 lawyers for his probe of Russian meddling in the 2016 investigation and plans on hiring “several more,” a spokesman for Mueller told Talking Points Memo on Friday.
“In addition to Mr. Mueller, we have 13 attorneys on board, with several more in the pipeline,” Mueller’s spokesman, Peter Carr, told TPM in an email. “The number of people will be determined by the needs of the investigation.”
CNN first reported on the expansion of Mueller’s staff Friday.
On Wednesday, the Washington Post reported that Mueller’s investigation included possible obstruction of justice by President Donald Trump. Trump himself wrote on Twitter Friday morning that he was “being investigated for firing the FBI Director.”
Past reports on Mueller’s lawyers have referred to them as an “all-star” team, and a “Murderer’s Row,” references to their experience with high-profile cases.
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich criticized the team over the weekend — at least, the handful of lawyers whose names are known — for disproportionately donating money to Democratic groups and candidates in the past.
Mueller is himself a registered Republican — though he is widely described as “apolitical” — who was nominated to lead the FBI in 2001 by then-President George W. Bush.
