At the White House, a spokesman for Donald Trump says there's no need for an independent prosecutor to be appointed to examine the President's ties to Russia.
The White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer made his comments came after a leading Republican on Capitol Hill said the probe should be put into the hands of a Special Prosecutor.
Former President George W. Bush also joined calls for an investigation into the nature of contacts between the President's aides in last year's election and the Russians.
Our Washington Correspondent Simon Marks reports.
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Week Six of the Trump Presidency, and you didn't need to read political tealeaves to understand what the White House press secretary was telling reporters.
Sean Spicer began the 6th week of the Trump administration hitting back at the suggestion that it's already time to appoint a Watergate-style "Special Prosecutor" to examine the Trump team's ties to Russia.
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He claimed 6 months of investigations into allegations of inappropriate, possibly illegal contacts between the President's top aides and Moscow had lead to nothing….and so he said, it's time to stop for everyone to stop digging.
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The problem for Mr. Spicer….and for his boss the President….is that the weekend's call for a Special Prosecutor didn't come from reporters.
And it didn't come from the Democrats.
It came from Congressman Darrell Issa …. a Republican from California.
And not just any Republican: the man who, as head of the House of Representatives Oversight Committee last year, went after the issue of Hillary Clinton's use of a private e-mail server like a terrier.
In an appearance on HBO, he said it's time for an independent investigation of President Trump, not one overseen by the new Attorney General Jeff Sessions who of course owes his job to the President.
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And there was more.
Former Republican President George W. Bush doesn't give many interviews these days…..but he gave one to NBC on Monday morning and told the Today show he thinks an investigation is warranted.
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Not all Republicans share that view….for now the White House seems to have the backing of the current chairman of the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee, Congressman Devin Nunes.
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But the top Democrat on the same Committee, Congressman Adam Schiff, said the political equivalent of hold your horses: just because we haven't seen it yet, doesn't mean it isn't there.
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Back at the White House, President Trump, was asked by reporters about calls for a "Special Prosecutor", and said sot to voce to his guests in the room that he hadn't "called Russia for about ten years"…even though no one asked him whether he had.
His Press Secretary continued to insist there's no scandal to investigate.
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But as President Trump prepares to address a joint session of Congress here on Tuesday night, White House officials know there is nervousness among Republicans on Capitol Hill over the Russia issue and whether it will get closer to touching the President.
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