Former US, Arizona leaders support Mueller selection to lead Russia election probe
May 18, 2017, 3:19 PM
FILE - In this July 30, 2001, file photo, Robert Mueller is sworn in at the start of his testimony during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, to be the FBI director. Mueller took office as FBI director in 2001 expecting to dig into drug cases, white-collar misdeeds and violent crime. A week later was Sept. 11. Overnight, his mission changed and Mueller spent the next 12 years wrestling the agency into a battle-hardened terrorism-fighting force. (AP Photo/Dennis Cook, File)
(AP Photo/Dennis Cook, File)
PHOENIX — The former U.S. House Intelligence Committee chair and a former Arizona attorney general sit on either side of the political aisle.
But they both agree former FBI Director Robert Mueller was the right choice serve as special counsel into possible meddling by Russia in the recent president election.
“Robert Mueller is a good guy,” former U.S. Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-Mich.) told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Arizona’s Morning News on Thursday.
Grant Woods, who served as a special prosecutor in several Arizona cases after serving as the state’s attorney general, agreed.
“I think this was a great move and he (Deputy U.S. Attorney General Rod Rosenstein) picked the right guy,” he told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Bruce St. James and Pamela Hughes on Thursday.
Hoekstra said he doesn’t feel the investigation needs special counsel, but if the hyperpartisan atmosphere in Washington, D.C. has made it necessary, Mueller is a good pick.
“If the job is going to be filled, Mueller is a good person to be in the job. He’ll do it and he’ll do it professionally.”
The Mueller pick was announced Wednesday. He has been tasked with carrying on the investigation that former FBI Director James Comey told Congress about before he was fired by President Donald Trump.
That includes any links between Trump campaign associates and Russia, as well as “any matters that arose or may arise directly from the investigation,” according to the letter appointing him.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
