FBI ex-chief to probe Donald Trump’s Russia affair

Washington: In a move that dramatically raises the legal and political stakes for Donald Trump’s four-month-old presidency, the US justice department on Wednesday named former FBI chief Robert Mueller as special counsel to investigate whether Team Trump colluded with Russia to tilt the 2016 election in the President’s favour.

As special counsel, Mr Mueller will have greater autonomy to run his investigation than other federal prosecutors.

Despite rising pressure from Capitol Hill and the crisis threatening to paralyse his presidency, Mr Trump responded to the news of Mr Mueller’s appointment by once again denying any links to Moscow.

The Republican leader, who has struggled to shake off suspicions that Russia helped put him in the White House, has been accused of seeking to block the investigation by sacking FBI chief James Comey.

Under pressure to provide guarantees to Congress and the public that the Russia probe will continue unhindered, deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein tapped Robert Mueller — a widely-respected figure who headed the FBI for the decade after the 9/11 attacks — to take over the reins.

A New York-born Vietnam war vet, Mr Mueller has a reputation as a tough lawman who once even stood up to a President. He will head up the FBI’s ongoing probe of “Russian government efforts to influence the 2016 presidential election and related matters.”