Editorial:
The country needs an independent investigation of the Trump associates’ ties to Russia.
President Trump’s brazen decision to fire James Comey, the FBI director who was leading an investigation into Trump’s campaign ties to Russia, has roiled Washington.
Trump has now fired three people who were leading investigations into his associates’ connections to Russia. (The others were Sally Yates, the former acting attorney general, and Preet Bharara, the former U.S. attorney in New York.)
It is absolutely essential that a full, independent investigation into the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia be completed. This isn’t a partisan matter, it’s a national security one. At this point, what’s at stake is our nation’s fabric and the health of our democracy.
It seems unlikely that this investigation will come out of Congress.
The Republican-dominated congressional panels devoted to the task of investigating Trump’s Russia ties have shown a lack of interest in the job. One example: the Senate intelligence committee has devoted just nine staffers to its probe, while dozens investigated the 2014 Benghazi attacks.
Meanwhile, leading Republicans in Congress, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, continue to reject calls for an independent prosecutor or commission.
So many leading Democrats in Congress, including both California senators, are calling for a special prosecutor to resume the TrumpRussia investigation.
It’s a fine suggestion that could remove partisanship from a critical national task. But getting one won’t be easy.
Congress would likely need to pass a new law just to have a special prosecutor in the first place.
Post-Watergate, Congress passed an act which defined the procedures under which an attorney general would be required to appoint an independent prosecutor. In the 1990s, after the nation had been worn out by Kenneth Starr’s relentless pursuit of former President Bill Clinton, the act was allowed to lapse. It hasn’t been renewed.
Unless Congress passes a new law, only the attorney general can currently appoint an independent investigator.
But the Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, had to recuse himself on Russia matters once it was discovered that, during his Senate confirmation hearings, he had failed to disclose his meetings with the Russian ambassador.
So the task would fall to Sessions’ deputy, Rod Rosenstein — the man who prepared the memo to justify Comey’s firing.
It’s quite a mess — another reason why the country needs an independent investigation. Congress must write a new law right now. The nation can’t wait.