Former FBI director to head Russia probe
President hits back at critics as calls for impeachment over Moscow links grow
Robert Mueller, FBI director from 2001 to 2013, was last night appointed special prosecutor of the probe into links between Donald Trump’s team and Russia. It also emerged the Republican House majority leader claimed last year that Mr Trump was being paid by the Russian president. Mr Trump, caught in a storm over allegations that he tried to quash an FBI investigation, promised he would “fight, fight, fight” for his future.
Nick Allen
Barney Henderson
PRESIDENT Donald Trump lashed out at his critics last night vowing to “fight, fight, fight” as it was announced that Robert Mueller, who served as the FBI director from 2001 to 2013, had been appointed to lead the Russia probe.
Democrats called for Mr Trump’s impeachment yesterday, accusing him of obstruction of justice and compared his actions to Watergate, amid a growing furore over allegations that he tried to shut down an FBI investigation and shared classified intelligence with Russian diplomats.
Mr Mueller was last night appointed to be special prosecutor overseeing the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.
The move raised the stakes for Mr Trump over the several investigations into links between his team and Moscow, and was a concession to Democrats who had called for an independent investigation.
In a bizarre twist Russian president Vladimir Putin offered to exonerate Mr Trump over the intelligence claims, saying no secrets had been shared.
It was also reported last night that Kevin Mccarthy, the Republican House majority leader, claimed last year that Mr Putin was paying Mr Trump in a re- cording reported by the Washington Post.
Paul Ryan, the House speaker, imme- diately interjected, stating: “No leaks... This is how we know we’re a real family here.” A spokesman for Mr Ryan said the comments were “clearly an attempt at humour”.
Mr Mueller is widely respected by both Republicans and Democrats and served under both George W Bush and Barack Obama.
Jason Chaffetz, the Republican house oversight committee chairman, said Mr Mueller was a “great selection. Impeccable credentials. Should be widely accepted.”
Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic House minority leader, said Mr Mueller was “a respected public servant of the highest integrity”.
Analysts said the appointment will have “shocked” the Trump White House during what is the most tumultuous week of the presidency so far.
Mr Trump last night said that “a thorough investigation will confirm what we already know – there was no collusion between my campaign and any foreign entity”.
“I look forward to this matter concluding quickly,” Mr Trump said.
He gave a passionate address to US Coast Guard cadets in Connecticut yesterday, saying he had been “treated worse than any politician in history” by the media. He said: “I’ll give you some advice. Over the course of your life you will find things aren’t always fair. You have to put your head down and fight,
fight, fight. You can’t let the critics and the naysayers get in the way of your dreams. Don’t give in, don’t back down and never, ever, ever give up. Things will work out just fine.”
His speech came as the White House was under intense pressure in the wake of allegations from James Comey, the FBI director sacked by Mr Trump a week ago.
Mr Comey’s allies released contents of a memo he wrote following a dinner with Mr Trump at the White House in January. In it, Mr Comey claimed the president tried to have him stop an FBI investigation into links between Gen Michael Flynn, Mr Trump’s former national security adviser, and Russia.
Mr Comey claimed Mr Trump told him: “I hope you can let this go.” The White House said that the memo was “not truthful or accurate”.
Three congressional committees, all led by Republicans, last night confirmed they wanted to hear from Mr Comey.
The row came a day after Mr Trump was accused of sharing classified information about an Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant plot with Sergey Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, in the Oval Office. On Wall Street, shares and the dollar tumbled in the biggest single-day slump in eight months as investors questioned Mr Trump’s ability to deliver tax reforms.
Mr Ryan said that he still had “full confidence” in the president and that the legislative agenda would continue.
John Mccain was the most high-profile Republican senator to criticise Mr Trump.
He said: “I think it’s reached a point where it’s of Watergate size and scale.”
Al Green, a Democrat congressman from Texas, became the first person to call for Mr Trump’s impeachment on the floor of the House.
Do US Republicans have the stomach for it? For keeping Donald Trump in office, that is – or impeaching him. So far, the party has swung behind the man foisted upon it, but doubts are creeping in.
It’s getting riskier to defend him, for one thing. On Monday, a Washington Post report alleged that the President had carelessly revealed classified intelligence from a US ally (Israel, the paper later reported) in a chat with Russia’s foreign minister.
Then, Tuesday brought news that, three months before firing the FBI chief James Comey, Mr Trump had asked him to drop the investigation into links between his former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, and Russia. The words “obstruction of justice” have started to float around.
Republicans now look anxious. Even last week, some Republican senators were mumbling about a special prosecutor. This week, those who have so far been supportive of Mr Trump, or at least muted in their criticism, including a prominent Tea Partyer, began to demand documents and say things like: “We need to get to the bottom of this.”
Mr Trump isn’t making it easy for his allies. Reports from DC paint a picture of a chaotic White House, with the President barely keeping his own staff informed of his story, let alone warning Republicans before doing something he wants them to defend.
There are other reasons for Republicans to think about his removal, too. His scandals might make it impossible for the party to get anything done. And below the President, waiting to take charge if he falls, is an old-school Republican: Mike Pence. Mr Pence is a low-tax, pro-military, anti-abortion, Christian conservative with 17 years’ political experience. For despairing Republicans, the prospect of President Pence must look very tempting.
It’s far too soon for them to dream just yet. Rightly, there is no easy way to remove a democratically elected US president. The House has to vote for an impeachment by simple majority and the Senate must hold a trial and find him guilty by two thirds. More obscure mechanisms, such as the 25th Amendment (meant for the removal of presidents who have lost their marbles), are non-starters.
More important are the political ramifications. Trump voters would see it as nothing less than a coup cooked up by the media and “the deep state”. They might be a minority, but their anger would be a towering force. All the purveyors of the distrust, fury and disgust at Washington DC that helped get Mr Trump elected would go into overdrive. “See!” they’d say. “Democracy is dead! Elections mean nothing!” Woe betide any Republican facing this torrent of rage. Mr Trump seems determined to make this an agonising choice for his adopted party. A Pence presidency might seem like a safe haven to seasoned Republicans. Getting there, though, is dangerous.
Here’s an unpleasant experience: try sitting in the central courtyard of the Tower of London and watching its famous ravens. They are formidable, aristocratic-looking creatures, covered in shining, jetblack feathers. They are also, like the Tower’s erstwhile prisoners, trapped.
They hop about, on and off perches, but they cannot fly. Their wings are clipped because, as the legend goes, if ravens should ever leave the Tower, the kingdom will fall.
They seem to feel the lure of flight, though. I once watched as a group of pigeons took off from the Tower’s grounds. A raven, hearing the flapping, tensed its whole body and crouched, ready to leap into the air. But experience had taught it not to bother and it stood up straight again. It was utterly depressing.
Thanks are due, therefore, to the Tower’s current Raven Master. He has found a less aggressive way of clipping their wings to allow at least some flight, though not long distances, and claims to have bonded with one of the ravens enough that she is allowed to visit the river and comes back to him.
I’m inclined to think he should be allowed to take more of a risk. The kingdom will be all right. The Tower’s official historian concluded in 2004 that ravens have left the place more than once in its history without causing the country’s downfall. It’s time to let the ravens fly.
In the days after the French election, maps circulated online showing correlations between various regions’ support for Marine Le Pen and other factors, such as water hardness, exposure to the Chernobyl disaster and wild otter populations. They were poking fun at political pseudo-science – not that everyone posting them was in on the joke.
Yesterday, new President Emmanuel Macron named his cabinet. The top posts went to experienced politicians, but that left room for a nod to the types of box-ticking quotas that have determined his parliamentary candidates list: half women, a certain number from civil society, a certain number on the Left and the Right and so on. But despite Mr Macron’s quotas, there were no posts given to otters.
Moscow’s superb Sovremennik theatre company performed Anton Chekhov’s Three Sisters in London last week. The play was bleak, tragic, humane and full of exquisitely observed human foibles, dry humour and hopeless philosophising. Can we have more of that sort of Russian influence, please?