Trump declares he could 'run' Mueller's Russia probe if he wanted

Donald Trump has suggested that he could "run" Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian election meddling, despite the investigation looking into possible collusion with between Moscow and Trump campaign officials.

The president suggested that he had stayed out of the investigation, but that he does not have to. "I could run it if I want," Mr Trump said, adding that he is "totally allowed" to intervene in the probe, but has chosen to stay out.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from the probe early last year over his contacts with Russian officials, leading Deputy Attorney general Rod Rosenstein to eventually appoint Mr Mueller after Mr Trump fired the then-head of the FBI, James Comey, who was leading the probe. Special counsel's are generally appointed when an investigation would mean the potential for conflict of interest for the executive branch of government and Mr Mueller is said to be looking into the potential that Mr Comey's firing could be obstruction of justice.

A number of bills have been floated by members of Congress to codify in law the protection for Mr Mueller, amid increasingly vociferous attacks from Mr Trump, who has repeatedly denied collusion and has called the probe a "witch hunt".

Calls for Congress to step in will no doubt grow larger in the wake of Mr Trump's latest comments, in an interview with Reuters, with them coming hours after another Twitter rant from the president about the investigation.

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