Senator says he fears dismissal would be a prelude to firing Mueller, shutting down Russia investigation
WASHINGTON — A bevy of congressional Republicans are warning President Donald Trump not to move against Attorney General Jeff Sessions in what many fear could be a prelude to the dismissal of special counsel Robert Mueller, who is probing Trump’s ties to Russia.
Trump’s public criticism of Sessions has mounted in recent days, starting with a tweet Saturday morning asking why Sessions and Mueller have not investigated alleged “crimes” by former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and by former FBI Director James Comey, and culminating in a tweet early Tuesday accusing Sessions of taking “a VERY weak position” on investigating Clinton and leakers of intelligence secrets.
The attack Tuesday prompted an outpouring of support for Sessions among his former colleagues in the Senate, where he served for 20 years before resigning to become attorney general, and left scores of other Republicans aghast at Trump’s willingness to attack one of his most loyal campaign supporters.
“I don’t think it helps to throw your own people under the bus,” said Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla. “If you think you need to make a change, call him in, have the discussion, make the change. But I don’t think these sorts of public floggings are very helpful.”
Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., marveled on the Senate floor Tuesday at Trump’s willingness to attack Sessions.
“This is the first person who stuck his neck out for Donald Trump, who was with him through thick and thin,” he said. “And now, even if the president has disagreements with him — which I think are illfounded, self-centered and wrong — you don’t ridicule him in public. Someone who is your close friend? That speaks to character.”
Schumer raised openly what many Republicans fear privately — that Sessions’s dismissal would be a first step toward Mueller’s firing. Sessions has recused himself from Russiarelated matters because of the meetings he had taken with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak and cannot dismiss Mueller, but his successor would not be so constrained.
“Many Americans must be wondering if the president is trying to pry open the office of attorney general to appoint someone during the August recess who will fire special counsel Mueller and shut down the Russia investigation,” Schumer said.
House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., declined Tuesday to make a definitive statement regarding Sessions, telling reporters, “It’s up to the president to decide what his personnel decision is and any possible fallout that comes from that.”