Trump attacks inquiry
President tweets, telling Sessions to end probe into Russia collusion
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump called on Attorney General Jeff Sessions to “stop this Rigged Witch Hunt right now,” opening the president to further complaints that he is trying to obstruct the investigation into Russia’s election interference and his campaign’s possible complicity.
Trump is already reportedly under investigation for potential obstruction of the Russia probe led by special counsel Robert Mueller. His tweet early Wednesday was the president’s most explicit statement to date seemingly aimed at getting his attorney general, the nation’s top law enforcement officer, to end the probe.
The tweet, along with several others Wednesday morning, reflected the president’s accelerated attacks on the investigation, which he says is tainted by bias. They coincided with the second day of the trial on Tuesday of Paul Manafort, Trump’s former campaign chairman, on 18 charges of tax evasion, bank fraud and conspiracy.
“This is a terrible situation and Attorney General Jeff Sessions should stop this Rigged Witch Hunt right now, before it continues to stain our country any further. Bob Mueller is totally conflicted, and his 17 Angry Democrats that are doing his dirty work are a disgrace to USA!” Trump wrote.
The president suggested in a tweet that Manafort was being treated worse than Al Capone, the
notorious Prohibition-era Chicago gangster who was also prosecuted for tax evasion. “Where is the Russian Collusion?” Trump added.
The tweets prompted Rep. Adam Schiff of California, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, to accuse the president of obstruction “hiding in plain sight.”
“The President of the United States just called on his Attorney General to put an end to an investigation in which the President, his family and campaign may be implicated,” Schiff tweeted. “This is an attempt to obstruct justice hiding in plain sight. America must never accept it.”
Under Justice Department regulations, a president cannot face criminal charges while in office. But depending on what Mueller uncovers, including findings on obstruction, Congress could decide to pursue impeachment. President Bill Clinton was impeached by the U.S. House for perjury and obstruction in 1998, a time when Congress likewise was under Republican control, though the Senate voted for acquittal in 1999.
Contrary to Trump’s tweet, Sessions does not have power to stop the investigation because he recused himself from it more than a year ago. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein became responsible for the probe, appointed Mueller and supervises his work.
“It’s a tweet that’s just blowing in the wind, because Sessions has already recused himself from the Russia investigation,” said John Yoo, a University of California at Berkeley law professor who served in President George W. Bush’s administration.
Even so, the episode again forced the White House and Trump’s allies to defend a presidential tweet aimed at undermining the investigation.
Although the White House and the Justice Department previously have said that Trump’s tweets are official presidential statements, his lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, responded to the latest one as he has before, by brushing off suggestions that Trump’s tweets could be used as evidence of obstruction.
“The president was expressing his opinion on his favored medium for asserting his First Amendment right of free speech,” Giuliani said in an interview. “He said ‘should,’ not ‘must,’ and no presidential order was issued or will be.”
He said he spoke with Trump to make sure that the president was not actually issuing an order. “I talked to him about it to make sure he was on the same page as we are,” Giuliani said, and the president indicated he was not ordering Sessions to act.
Meanwhile, Mueller indicated this week that he is willing to reduce the number of questions his investigators would pose to Trump in an interview, renewing negotiations with Trump’s lawyers about a presidential sit-down after an extended standoff, according to two people briefed on the negotiations.
The special counsel’s latest proposal comes as Trump has stepped up attacks on Mueller’s investigation and him personally.