President Donald Trump has reacted to the decision to appoint former FBI Director Robert Mueller as special counsel to oversee the inquiry into Russia’s influence on his election.

The president tweeted on May 18: “This is the single greatest witch hunt of a politician in American history.”

Donald Trump’s reaction differed from yesterday when he was quoted in a White House statement as saying: “I look forward to this matter concluding quickly.”

In naming Robert Mueller, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said it was in the public interest to pick an outsider.

Robert Mueller’s appointment has been welcomed by politicians from both sides.

Calls for a special investigation mounted after President Trump fired FBI Director James Comey last week.

“With all of the illegal acts that took place in the Clinton campaign and the Obama Administration, there was never a special councel [sic] appointed,” he tweeted on May 18.

President Trump later reposted the same tweet, after correcting his misspelling of the word “counsel”.

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A number of times previously, President Trump has likened the investigation into potential collusion between his campaign and the Russian government to a witch hunt.

Donald Trump’s latest tweets came hours before he was to hold a joint press conference with the visiting Colombian president.

On May 17, Donald Trump said no politician in history “has been treated worse or more unfairly” than himself.

The announcement of a special counsel apparently took the White House by surprise, with President Trump only being informed of it after Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein had signed the order.

The FBI and Congress are looking into potential links between Donald Trump’s campaign team and Russia. Robert Mueller will take over the FBI investigation.

Washington’s intelligence agencies believe Russia tried to tip the US presidential election in favor of Donald Trump.

Meanwhile, the New York Times reports that former Trump aide Michael Flynn told his transition team at the beginning of January – earlier than was previously thought – that he was under federal investigation for working as a paid lobbyist for Turkey during the election campaign.

Donald Trump appointed Michael Flynn as his national security adviser weeks later despite the warning, but he was sacked after just 24 days.

In his statement announcing Robert Mueller’s appointment, Rod Rosenstein said: “The public interest requires me to place this investigation under the authority of a person who exercises a degree of independence from the normal chain of command.”

Robert Mueller, who will have wide-ranging powers, said simply: “I accept this responsibility and will discharge it to the best of my ability.”

Just over an hour after the news of Robert Mueller’s appointment emerged, President Trump predicted the new investigation would clear him and his team.

“A thorough investigation will confirm what we already know – there was no collusion between my campaign and any foreign entity,” he said.