White House torn over Mueller’s role as pressure grows

WASHINGTON | Criticism of special counsel Robert Mueller used to be off limits.

In appointing Mueller last month, Rosenstein said that the “public interest requires me to place this investigation under the authority of a person who exercises a degree of independence from the normal chain of command”.

Going even further was Trump friend Chris Ruddy, the CEO of Newsmax, who suggested the president was already thinking about “terminating” Mueller in an interview with Judy Woodruff of “PBS NewsHour”. “I think firing Mueller could trigger an impeachment process”.

Asked on the American ABC’s This Week program whether the President would promise not to interfere or order Mr Mueller’s sacking, Mr Sekulow said: “Look, the President of the United States, as we all know, is a unitary executive”. The regulations governing independent investigations make clear that the special counsel can be removed “only by the personal action of the Attorney General”.

Rosenstein also said that having made political contributions “is not a disqualification” from working for the special counsel leading the Russian Federation investigation.

“M$3 aking a martyr out of a guy who is the All-American hero story is how you Swiftboat yourself”, Deace wrote.

She argued that the press didn’t do that because there’s a “concerted effort” to drive Trump from the White House. Comey told the Intelligence Committee he never considered yielding to Trump’s implied threat, and Trump subsequently fired him.

Time to get to it.

Former United States attorney Barbara McQuade, who served under the Barack Obama administration, told the Daily Beast if Trump fired Mueller “and it could be shown that his goal was to impede the investigation, it could be additional evidence of obstruction of justice”.

The big news Monday night was that President Trump is apparently thinking about firing the special counsel in charge of the federal Russian Federation investigation, Robert S. Mueller III.

The Senate testimony of ex-FBI boss James Comey dominated the headlines last week, but the latest announcements from Robert Mueller’s special counsel investigation could be a more ominous indication of trouble on the horizon for the Trump administration.

Republicans control both houses of Congress, but Schiff said he believes they would agree to bringing back the independent counsel law if for no other reason than they would face pressure from their constituents.

Justice Department spokesman Ian Prior declined to comment on the possibility of Trump seeking to remove Mueller. Rosenstein would be the one to fire Mueller, which he repeatedly assured senators Tuesday he would not consider without “good cause”. Rosenstein could refuse to do so, but Trump could then fire Rosenstein and find a replacement who would do his bidding. “And I’m not going to speculate on what he will or will not do”. Could even Donald Trump be so politically tuned out to invite more suspicion of his motives, judgment and stability? Susan Collins, R-Maine, asked Rosenstein what he would do if the president asked him to fire Mueller. Trump, who isn’t typically shy about leveling criticism, especially on Twitter, hasn’t commented on the longtime former Federal Bureau of Investigation director.