Washington- US President Donald Trump criticized on Thursday the appointment of a special counsel to lead the probe into Russian interference in the 2016 US election.

Trump wrote on his twitter account: “This is the single greatest witch hunt of a politician in American history!”
He also accused Hillary Clinton’s campaign and the Obama administration of conducting “illegal acts” with no special counsel appointed for them.

“Why no special counsel was appointed for what he called all of the illegal acts of Hillary Clinton’s campaign and the Obama administration,” Trump said.

The president also denied any collusion between his campaign and any foreign entity concerning the Russian links.

On Wednesday, the US Justice Department appointed former FBI Director Robert Mueller as a special counsel to lead the probe into Russian interference in the 2016 US election, fueling up the crisis that threatens to paralyze Trump’s presidency, particularly after the President was accused of trying to shut down the ongoing investigation into possible links between him and Russia by his attempt to obstruct the investigations conducted by the office of ex-FBI Director James Comey.

However, Mueller’s appointment saw a rare consensus between Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill, who applauded the pick.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, said: “Bob was a fine US attorney, a great FBI director and there’s no better person who could be asked to perform this function.”

Republican Senator Jason Chaffetz also said in a tweet that Mueller was a great selection with “impeccable credentials.”

Another Republican, Senator Susan Collins, said Muller “has sterling credentials and is above reproach.”

Speaker of the House Paul Ryan said at a press conference: “We need the facts.”

He added: “It is obvious there are some people out there who want to harm the president, but we have an obligation to carry out our oversight regardless of which party is in the White House.”