Senators bid to protect Mueller as Trump fumes

WASHINGTON — Four senators — two Republicans and two Democrats — are taking a step to protect special counsel Robert Mueller’s job as President Donald Trump has angrily mused about firing him.

Legislation offered on Wednesday by Republicans Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Democrats Chris Coons of Delaware and Cory Booker of New Jersey would give any special counsel a 10-day window to seek expedited judicial review of a firing.The measure, which combines two bipartisan bills introduced last summer, signals escalating concerns in Congress as Trump fumes about a Monday FBI raid of the office of his personal attorney, Michael Cohen. Trump has privately pondered firing Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who is overseeing Mueller’s investigation, and publicly criticized Mueller and his Russia inquiry.

Mueller is investigating potential ties between Russia and Trump’s 2016 campaign, and examining whether the president’s actions constitute obstruction of justice. As the investigation has worn on, Trump has called it a “witch hunt.” On Monday, after the Cohen raid, he said it was “an attack on our country.” In a tweet Wednesday, he said the investigation is “never ending and corrupt.” The raid was overseen by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan and was based in part on a referral from Mueller, said Cohen’s lawyer, Stephen Ryan.

Graham said in a statement that the purpose of the bill is to ensure a special counsel isn’t fired for political reasons. “I think this will serve the country well,” he said.

Coons said it’s time for Republicans and Democrats to “stand up and make it clear that we are committed to the rule of law in this country.” After introducing similar bills in August, when Trump first began criticizing Mueller’s investigation, Tillis and Graham kept quiet for months about the need for the legislation while Democrats continued to push it. The two GOP senators said they didn’t think Trump would really move to fire Mueller. But the four senators, all members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, moved to push out the new bill hours after Trump’s tirade Monday.

Some Republicans still say they see no need for the legislation. “I don’t think it’s necessary,” Texas Sen. John Cornyn said . “And if it did pass, would the president sign it? I think it’s unlikely.”