The appointment of a special counsel to investigate Russian meddling in the 2016 election is a "mistake," according to an editorial in The Wall Street Journal.
"These expeditions rarely end well for anyone, and Democrats are hoping this one will bedevil the Trump administration for the next four years," the Wednesday editorial said after former FBI Director Robert Mueller appointed to the post.
"The problem with special counsels, as we've learned again and again, is that they are by definition politically unaccountable," the editorial board wrote shortly after the Wednesday night announcement.
"What the country really needs is a full accounting of how the Russians tried to influence the election and whether any Americans assisted them.
"That is fundamentally a counterintelligence investigation, but Mr. Mueller will be under pressure to bring criminal indictments of some kind to justify his existence."
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein announced the appointment, and said Mueller had accepted the post.