Former FBI Director Robert Mueller, special counsel on the Russian investigation, leaves following a meeting with members of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Image by SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images

Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s team has asked the FBI to look into claims that women were offered money to fabricate sexual assault allegations against Mueller, who leads the probe into Russia’s attempts to influence the U.S. election in 2016.

“When we learned last week of allegations that women were offered money to make false claims about the Special Counsel, we immediately referred the matter to the FBI for investigation,” Peter Carr, a spokesman for Mueller, said on Tuesday.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation declined to comment.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

Jack Burkman, a Washington lawyer and Republican operative, told Reuters he was speaking to five women who claimed they were sexually assaulted by Mueller, and denied paying them for the information.

He said he would have a news conference close to Washington on Thursday with one of the women who claimed she was sexually assaulted by Mueller in 2010, and that the other four women still needed to be vetted.

Mueller is leading the politically sensitive investigation into Russian meddling and possible collusion between Republican Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign team and Russian officials.

Burkman, who is also a right-wing commentator on social media, has been critical of the Mueller probe and sought to raise funds for Rick Gates and Michael Flynn, two former Trump aides who pleaded guilty to charges brought against them by Mueller’s team.

Trump denies any collusion and has repeatedly described Mueller’s probe as a partisan “witch hunt.”

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’re near the end of our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we have a very ambitious goal of $127,000 by April 21.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a Passover gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Make a Passover Gift Today!

$90 $180

$360

Other amount