WASHINGTON - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday the appointment of former FBI director Robert Mueller as the special counsel to oversee his campaign’s ties with Russia “divides country.”
“I respect the move but the entire thing has been a witch hunt and there is no collusion between - certainly myself and my campaign, but I can only speak for myself and the Russians. Zero.” Trump said at a joint press conference with his Colombian counterpart Juan Manuel Santos in the White House.
In contrast with Trump’s remarks, Mueller’s appointment has received widely bipartisan welcome across Congress since Wednesday evening when the news went public.
At the press conference, Trump also dismissed suggestions of criminal charges or impeachment: “I think it’s totally ridiculous.” 
Asked whether he required ousted FBI chief James Comey to shut down a probe into former National Security advisor Michael Flynn, Trump answered: “No. No. Next question.”
The U.S. president tweeted Thursday morning branding the probe into possibly Russian collusion with his campaign the “single greatest witch hunt” in political history. “I believe it hurts our country terribly, because it shows we’re a divided, mixed-up, not-unified country,” Trump said later at a luncheon with a group of television news anchors.   (Xinhua)