Trump questions impartiality of Russia probe chief

President Donald Trump has questioned the impartiality of special counsel Robert Mueller, who is leading the probe into Russia's meddling in the US election and possible collusion with the Trump campaign.

In an interview with Fox News aired yesterday morning, Trump argued that Mueller, a former FBI director, is "good friends" with James Comey, Mueller's successor at the spy agency whom Trump fired on May 9. Trump later acknowledged he took this step with the Russia probe in mind.

Trump also said that some of the staffers that Mueller has hired for his investigation "are all Hillary Clinton supporters."  Trump did say, however, that Mueller is an "honorable man."

The report came as Trump on Thursday admitted he does not have recordings of his private meetings with fired FBI director James Comey, after fueling speculation for weeks of secret Oval Office tapes.

But Trump's belated admissions did little to quell allegations that he has sought to stifle investigations into possible collusion between his presidential campaign and Russian interference in last year's election.

In a new development, the Washington Post yesterday reported that the CIA had top-level intelligence last August that Russian President Vladimir Putin personally ordered an operation to help Trump win the US presidential race.

The intelligence shocked the White House and put US security chiefs on a top-secret crisis footing to figure out how to react.

But amid confidence that Democrat Hillary Clinton still had the election in the bag and worries over president Barack Obama himself being seen as manipulating the election, the administration delivered warnings to Moscow but left countermeasures until after the vote, the Post reported.