WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said he would not overrule his acting attorney general, Matthew Whitaker, if he decides to curtail the special counsel probe being led by Robert Mueller III into Russian interference in the 2016 election campaign.

“Look, it’s going to be up to him ... I would not get involved,” Trump said in an interview on “Fox News Sunday.”

In the weeks since Trump forced Jeff Sessions to resign as attorney general and chose Whitaker to serve as his interim replacement, Whitaker has faced calls from Democrats to recuse himself from oversight of the probe given his previous criticism of the investigation. Trump said in Sunday’s interview that he “did not know (Whitaker) took views on the Mueller investigation as such” before he appointed him to his position.

Trump also essentially shut the door to sitting down with Mueller, telling host Chris Wallace that his written answers mean “probably this is the end” of his involvement in the probe into Russian interference in the 2016 campaign.

“I think we’ve wasted enough time on this witch hunt and the answer is probably: We’re finished,” Trump said.

Trump said Friday that he had answered a set of written questions from Mueller “very easily.” The president told Wallace in Sunday’s interview that it “wasn’t a big deal” and that he expects his legal team to submit the answers “at some point very soon.”

Trump’s answers had long been sought by Mueller during the course of his 18-month-old investigation. The probe has led to charges against 32 people, including 26 Russians. While four aides to Trump have pleaded guilty to various charges, Mueller’s team has not given any public indications as to whether it has concluded that Trump associates conspired with the Russians or whether the president obstructed justice by pressuring Justice Department leaders.

Key lawmakers also weighed in on Whitaker on Sunday.

In an appearance on ABC News’ “This Week,” incoming Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., contended that Whitaker “was chosen for the purpose of interfering with the Mueller investigation.”

Schiff also said Whitaker should be subject to Senate confirmation.

Trump fired back in a tweet Sunday afternoon in which he argued that Mueller had not been confirmed by the United States Senate, either.

However, Mueller, unlike the attorney general, is not a Cabinet-level official; he was appointed by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, and his role does not require Senate confirmation.

During Sunday’s wide-ranging interview, Trump said he does not feel it is necessary for him to listen to an audio recording of journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s killing inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul last month.

“We have the tape. I don’t want to hear the tape. No reason for me to hear the tape,” Trump said.

The CIA has concluded that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the killing of Khashoggi, a prominent critic of Saudi leaders and a contributing columnist to The Washington Post. But Trump maintained on “Fox News Sunday” that the crown prince had told him that he had nothing to do with the killing.

Trump also weighed in on the performance of several top members of his administration —saying there are people in “three or four or five positions” he is thinking about replacing — and maintained that his party had succeeded in the midterm elections despite losing the House.