2017 Special Counsel for the United States Department of Justice team

The 2017 Special Counsel for the United States Department of Justice team is a group of attorneys and investigators led by former FBI director Robert Mueller, assembled to probe the Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections and related matters.
Origin and powers
On May 17, 2017, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appointed Mueller to serve as special counsel for the United States Department of Justice (DOJ). In this capacity, Mueller oversees the investigation into "any links and/or coordination between Russian government and individuals associated with the campaign of President Donald Trump, and any matters that arose or may arise directly from the investigation".
The appointment followed a series of events which included of FBI director Comey and "disclosure that Mr. Trump asked Mr. Comey to drop the investigation of his former national security adviser, Michael Flynn." In an interview with the Associated Press, Rosenstein said he would recuse himself if any of his (Rosentein's) actions were to become a subject in the investigation due to his role in the dismissal of James Comey. As special counsel, Mueller has the power to issue subpoenas, hire staff members, request funding, and prosecute federal crimes in connection with the election interference.
Rosenstein has authority over the use of DOJ resources by Mueller and the investigation. In an interview with the Associated Press, Rosenstein said he would recuse from supervision of Mueller, if he himself were to become a subject in the investigation due to his role in the dismissal of James Comey.
Team members
Politico reported that the "ideal team" would likely have six to eight prosecutors, along with administrative assistants and experts in areas such as money laundering or interpreting tax returns. hired thirteen lawyers, and was in the process of hiring more.
Members of the team include:
* Peter Carr: Team spokesman
* Michael Dreeben: Deputy Solicitor General, who oversees the Justice Department's criminal appellate docket; an expert in criminal law
* Adam Jed: Attorney in the DOJ Civil Division, appellate section
* Robert Mueller: Team leader; Special counsel for the United States Department of Justice
* Lisa C. Page: DOJ trial attorney in the FBI's Criminal Division Organized Crime Section; formerly an attorney in the office of the FBI general counsel
* Elizabeth Barchas Prelogar: Assistant with the solicitor general's office; fluent in Russian; former law clerk to Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Elena Kagan
* James L. Quarles III: Former assistant special prosecutor on the Watergate Special Prosecution Force
* Jeannie Rhee: Partner at WilmerHale, specializing in white-collar crime; a former attorney in the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel and Assistant United States Attorney in the District of Columbia
* Andrew Weissmann: Chief of the DOJ Criminal Division's Fraud Section
Investigations
As part of the investigation, special prosecutor Robert Mueller assumed control of a Virginia-based grand jury criminal probe into the relationship between Flynn and Alptekin's Inovo BV.
Reactions
Mueller's appointment to oversee the investigation immediately garnered widespread support from both Democrats and Republicans in Congress. Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) said, "Former Director Mueller is exactly the right kind of individual for this job. I now have significantly greater confidence that the investigation will follow the facts wherever they lead." Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) stated, "Bob was a fine U.S. attorney, a great FBI director and there’s no better person who could be asked to perform this function." She added, "He is respected, he is talented and he has the knowledge and ability to do the right thing." Christopher Ruddy, a friend of Trump, stated that he has considered firing Mueller.
On June 23, 2017, Trump stated that members of Mueller's team were "all Hillary Clinton supporters, some of them worked for Hillary Clinton." PolitiFact rated Trump's claim "Mostly False", noting that only three had made campaign contributions to Hillary Clinton and one had defended the Clinton Foundation in court. One member of the team had made a contribution to Republican Congressman Jason Chaffetz.

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