WASHINGTON — On Wednesday,  the Justice Department named former FBI Director Robert Mueller as special counsel to investigate alleged Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election and possible collusion between President Trump’s campaign and Moscow.

The move followed a week in which the White House was thrown into an uproar amid rising demands by Democrats and some of Trump’s fellow Republicans for an independent probe of whether Russia tried to sway the outcome of November’s presidential election in favor of Trump and against Democrat Hillary Clinton.

In a statement after the Justice Department announcement, Trump said he looked forward to a quick resolution of the matter.

“As I have stated many times, a thorough investigation will confirm what we already know – there was no collusion between my campaign and any foreign entity,” he said.

Mueller, in a statement tweeted by CBS News said: “I accept this responsibility and will discharge it to the best of my ability.”