Our view: Act now to protect the Mueller investigation

Many Republicans, it seems, would rather be waterboarded than take up legislation to protect special counsel Robert Mueller’s vital investigation into Russia’s role in the 2016 election. Such a measure would anger the GOP base, much of which buys the spurious argument that the inquiry is a “witch hunt” directed at President Donald Trump. The official line from House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is that such legislation is unnecessary because Trump would never fire Mueller. That argument was always weak. Trump has repeatedly — and deplorably — attacked Mueller and his overseers at the Justice Department in an effort to undermine the probe. And now, with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, the man at Justice whom Mueller reports to, in danger of being forced out of his position as early as Thursday, the case for inaction is untenable. Rosenstein, the No. 2 at Justice, appointed Mueller after Trump fired the man who launched the probe, FBI Director James Comey, and after Attorney General Jeff Sessions properly recused himself from the matter. If Rosenstein were to be ousted now, it would open up a path to shutting down the Mueller investigation, perhaps by getting someone down the chain of command at the Justice Department to do the dirty deed, or by bringing in someone new. Congressional leaders argue that even if Trump were to oust Rosenstein during their White House get-together scheduled for Thursday, that would not necessarily mean the firing of Mueller or the termination of his investigation. Barring more firings at the Justice Department, or the immediate appointment of a Rosenstein replacement that bypasses the confirmation process, oversight of Mueller’s investigation would fall to Solicitor General Noel Francisco, another legal professional unlikely to politicize his position by acceding to Trump’s wishes. What’s more, they argue, regardless of what happens to Rosenstein, getting rid of Mueller would evoke too many comparisons to the Nixon firing of the special prosecutor in the “Saturday Night Massacre,” so Trump wouldn’t do it. And even if he did, parts of the investigation could be taken up by other officials in the Justice Department, or by New York state’s attorney general. These arguments are cold comfort. The threshold question for lawmakers is not whether it is likely that Mueller would be fired, but whether it is possible. The answer is clearly yes. Trump is impulsive, and he grows increasingly desperate as Mueller digs deeper. Word that Mueller had spent hours interviewing Trump’s former fixer, Michael Cohen, is just the latest reason why Trump might grow trigger-happy. The fact that Trump has already engaged in gratuitous attacks on Mueller, Rosenstein and others, and acted in ways that could easily be construed as obstructing justice, is a good reason for Congress to act. The only real question is: What are lawmakers waiting for?

ALEX WONG/GETTY IMAGES On Capitol Hill in December.