THAT CRAZY TALK ABOUT MUELLER
And then they came for Robert Mueller.
If there were any remaining hope that Republicans would accept the precise, methodical work of this veteran, highly respected, Republican-appointed law enforcement official — the man Newt Gingrich once called a “superb choice to be special counsel” — it has evaporated in a fog of propaganda and delirious conspiracy theories.
In the real world, Mueller, appointed as special counsel after President Donald Trump fired FBI director James Comey in May, is doing the job he was hired to do — smoke out any and all links between the Trump campaign and the Russian government officials who assaulted U.S. sovereignty in 2016 in an effort to get Trump elected. These days, the most serious attacks on American governance are coming not from abroad, but from Trump’s aides and his allies in the right-wing media and Congress. As ludicrous as these attacks seem, they could yet lead to a constitutional crisis.
Reading the increasingly outlandish theories cooked up by Trump’s defenders and apologists is like entering an alternate, upside-down universe where Hillary Clinton remains Public Enemy No. 1.
In these irrelevant tales, Clinton (or, as Sean Hannity called her Monday, “President Clinton”) is the real colluder, working stealthily with the Russians to — stay with us here — destroy her own candidacy. Also, she and Bill Clinton once sold American uranium to the Russians. Also, Robert Mueller failed to fully investigate that sale when he led the FBI, so he’s complicit in it, too, not to mention he has ties to Comey, who also led the FBI. Also, some of his investigators donated to Democratic candidates.
There’s no bottom to the delusion on display. At this point, investigators could release videotapes of Vladimir Putin personally handing Trump a uranium-lined briefcase filled with stolen emails, and the right-wing armada would find a way to blame Clinton. (This would be followed, of course, by a congressional investigation to identify who leaked the tapes.)
These efforts at obfuscation and misdirection would be laughable, but they are linked to a very real and dangerous move by Trump allies throughout right-wing media and the government to shut down the Russia investigation for good.
It’s no secret that Trump has been itching to get rid of Mueller since soon after his appointment as special counsel in May. Trump’s advisers have told him that would be a terrible idea and have reportedly talked him out of it more than once. But the calls for such a move are now coming from some of the most influential voices in conservative media, as are other equally bad proposals, like urging that Mueller resign and that Trump pardon anyone and everyone caught up in the Russia investigation — including himself.
Trump would be wise to continue to ignore these loony ideas and restrain his own authoritarian reflexes. The president of the United States, no less than any citizen, lives under the law, not above it; Mueller’s investigation is the embodiment of that fact. Removing him now, after he has already secured two indictments, including one for Trump’s former campaign chief, and a guilty plea by a foreign-policy adviser, would send the message that Trump and his aides are accountable to no one.
Over the last several weeks, a few top Republicans have found the courage to say out loud what a majority of Americans have known for a long time: With his erratic behavior and anti-democratic eruptions, Donald Trump is presenting a profound danger to security of the nation and the stability of the world order. So far, these dissidents have beat their chests in a safe space, giving eloquent speeches on their way out the door.
But it will not be hard for them to turn their words into actions if Trump gives in to an impulse to fire Mueller. Do the math: Three Republican senators (looking at you, Mr. McCain, Mr. Corker and Mr. Flake), joining with 48 Democrats, could bring the Senate to a halt until Mueller was reinstated — no tax cuts, no more judges confirmed.
The scenario in which Mueller loses his job, or Trump further abuses his pardon power, is hypothetical — and may it remain so — but if it materializes, it will fall to Congress to defend the foundations of American democracy, the separation of powers and the rule of law.