Russia probe stand off
General Eric Holder tweeted: “ABSOLUTE RED LINE: the firing of Bob Mueller or crippling the special counsel’s office. If removed or meaningfully tampered with, there must be mass, popular, peaceful support of both. The American people must be seen and heard.”
Liberal activist groups have readied mass protests in the event that Mueller is fired.
Advisers who have spoken recently with Trump about the Russia investigation said the President was sharply critical of Attorney-General Jeff Sessions, as well as Deputy Attorney-General Rod Rosenstein, who oversees the Mueller operation — but did not broach the idea of firing Mueller. “I think he realises that would be a step too far,” said one adviser.
In a Twitter thread, former FBI special agent Asha Rangappa pointed out that “Rosenstein . . . has basically seen everything that Mueller has. If Trump fires, Rosenstein . . . he can preemptively choose someone who is going to stonewall the investigation from moving forward . . . Rosenstein, not Mueller, is really the buffer right now between POTUS (and Congress) and a full investigation of all aspects of ‘the Russia investigation’.”
There are ways that Trump could fire Mueller, according to legal scholars and former Justice Department officials. Under the special counsel regulations, Mueller could be disciplined or removed from office only by “good cause” and “by the personal action of the attorney general”. Rosenstein is acting as the attorney-general because Sessions recused himself from the Russia investigation.
Neal Katyal, a former acting solicitor-general who wrote the regulations that govern Mueller’s appointment, has said that Trump would have to fire Rosenstein to get rid of Mueller. “If Rosenstein refused, Trump could fire him and keep firing everyone who replaced him until he found someone who would fire Mueller,” said Harvard Law School professor Jack Goldsmith. If Trump fires Rosenstein, the next in line to oversee Mueller is Associate Attorney-General Rachel Brand.
On Capitol Hill, Mueller has widespread support. Asked what might happen if Trump fired the Special Counsel, Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn, (R), said, “I think that would be a mistake.”