Sean Spicer breaks with Trump: ‘No evidence’ Mueller probe is a witch hunt

Former White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Thursday that he’s seen no evidence that special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian election meddling is a “witch hunt,” as President Trump has repeatedly claimed.

“As of now, I’ve seen no evidence that it is,” Spicer said on NBC’s “Today.”

“I think that it’s been going on a long time,” he continued, noting that collusion and meddling are two distinct issues.

{mosads}

“There’s the collusion, which we’ve seen no evidence of, so far,” he said. “But with respect to the meddling, that’s another thing. And you’ve seen now multiple Russians indicted.”

“Do you think that the Mueller probe is a political witch hunt as the president continually says?” –@savannahguthrie

“As of now, I see no evidence that it is.” –@seanspicer pic.twitter.com/k0LYF4ZDZ2

— TODAY (@TODAYshow) July 19, 2018

Spicer resigned from his White House job in July 2017, about two months after Mueller was appointed as the special counsel to investigate Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

Trump has repeatedly criticized the Mueller probe as a “witch hunt” and a “hoax.” Earlier this week, he blamed the investigation, in part, for souring relations with Russia.

During a press conference on Monday, Trump railed against the Mueller probe while standing next to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Trump did not condemn Putin for meddling in the U.S. election, but blasted the special counsel and questioned why more attention was not paid to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s emails.

Trump later said he holds Putin responsible for election interference, but continued to stress that he did not collude with Russia.

Mueller has thus far filed charges against more than 20 Russian nationals, including 12 Russian intelligence officials, for allegedly interfering in the 2016 election. He has also obtained guilty pleas or indictments against four former Trump associates thus far.