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Wall Street Journal editorial board calls on special counsel Robert Mueller to resign again

FILE PHOTO: Special Counsel Robert Mueller (R) departs after briefing members of the U.S. Senate on his investigation into potential collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., June 21, 2017.   REUTERS/Joshua Roberts/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Special Counsel Mueller departs after briefing members of the U.S. Senate on his investigation in Washington Thomson Reuters

  • The Wall Street Journal editorial board called on Robert Mueller to resign as special counsel investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election.
  • The board has faced internal criticism from reporters who worry the board is too sympathetic to President Donald Trump's administration.
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The Wall Street Journal editorial board again called on special counsel Robert Mueller to step down from the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

In an editorial published Monday night, the editorial board argued that Mueller's investigation was biased, pointing to the recent reports that one of the top investigators on Mueller's team was fired over text messages that reflected negative information about President Donald Trump.

"The latest news supports our view that Mr. Mueller is too conflicted to investigate the FBI and should step down in favor of someone more credible," the editorial board said. "The investigation would surely continue, though perhaps with someone who doesn't think his job includes protecting the FBI and Mr. Comey from answering questions about their role in the 2016 election."

The op-ed claimed that there were massive conflicts of interest, saying the agent exchanged texts with FBI lawyer Lisa Page, who worked with the deputy FBI director, whose wife has tangential ties to allies of then-Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, and that as the former FBI director, Mueller knows former FBI Director James Comey.

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Further, the piece argued that the investigation has not been revealing enough to Republican-controlled oversight committees in Congress.

"All of this reinforces our doubts about Mr. Mueller’s ability to conduct a fair and credible probe of the FBI's considerable part in the Russia-Trump drama," the editorial said. "Mr. Mueller ran the bureau for 12 years and is fast friends with Mr. Comey, whose firing by Mr. Trump triggered his appointment as special counsel. The reluctance to cooperate with a congressional inquiry compounds doubts related to this clear conflict of interest."

Critics online immediately slammed the piece:

This isn't the first time the Journal's editorial board has called for Mueller to resign.

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In October, the Wall Street Journal editorial board called on Mueller to resign, and sought an investigation instead into Clinton for colluding with the Russians during the 2016 election.

"It turns out that Russia has sown distrust in the US political system — aided and abetted by the Democratic Party, and perhaps the FBI," the editorial began. "This is an about-face from the dominant media narrative of the last year, and it requires a full investigation."

The Journal's editorial board opinions have frustrated some reporters there, who say privately that the board has undermined some of the newspaper's own reporting.

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