Scrutiny Follows Every Hire Mueller Makes to Special Counsel Team

The scrutiny that comes with every hire Robert Mueller makes to his special counsel team investigating Russia is part politics, but also ethics, The Washington Post reported.

Given that more than half of the identified lawyers Mueller has picked for the probe have donated to Democrats — five of them to Hillary Clinton — raises concerns among neutral onlookers.

Further, though Mueller has as rock-solid a reputation as anyone, he's not getting a free pass when it comes to the question of running a fair and impartial probe.

"In my view, prosecutors who make political contributions are identifying fairly strongly with a political party," William Barr, who served as attorney general under George H.W. Bush, told the Post. "I would have liked to see him have more balance on this group."

The political pushback from President Donald Trump and his surrogates is predictable; casting doubt on Mueller now — much like Bill Clinton's Democrats did to Kenneth Starr — sows the seeds of doubt if the investigation bears results not to the liking of the White House, the Post reported.

"By staking out the position of partisanship through campaign contributions, the president simply is setting a stage for a public relations assault down the road," Jacob Frenkel, a defense lawyer at Dickinson Wright, told the Post.

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