Then-FBI Director James Comey sworn in prior to testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington DC The briefing came a day after Rosenstein appointed former FBI Director Robert Mueller as special counsel to investigate whether the Trump campaign coordinated with Russian Federation in that country's attempts to improperly influence the 2016 election. In one story, the Washington Post reported that a law enforcement Russia probe has identified a current adviser to the president as a "person of interest", while a New York Times story reported that the commander in chief told visiting Russian officials that the firing of "nut job" FBI Director James Comey had taken a weight off his shoulders.