Dems may protect Mueller via spending bill

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer said Sunday that Democrats might tie their support for the next spending bill to legislation that would protect special counsel Robert Mueller – although he stopped short of saying he would be willing to risk a shutdown.

The New York Democrat said President Donald Trump’s choice of Matthew Whitaker to head the Justice Department could threaten Mueller’s investigation into Russian election meddling and potential ties to the Trump campaign. Trump named Whitaker as the interim attorney general after Jeff Sessions’ ouster last week.

“The appointment of Mr. Whitaker should concern every American – Democrat, Republican, liberal, conservative – who believes in rule of law and justice,” Schumer said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “He has already prejudged the Mueller situation. If he stays there, he will create a constitutional crisis by inhibiting Mueller or firing Mueller, so Congress has to act.”

Schumer cited Whitaker’s comments that he does not believe Russia interfered in the 2016 election and that the funding to Mueller’s inquiry should be cut as examples of why Whitaker should not be in charge of the investigation.

He said Democratic leaders in the House and Senate plan to send a letter to the chief ethics officer of the Justice Department asking for an opinion on whether Whitaker should recuse himself from the investigation.

If Whitaker does not recuse, Schumer said, Democrats in both houses of Congress will “attempt to add to mustpass legislation, in this case the spending bill, legislation that would prevent Mr. Whitaker from interfering with the Mueller investigation.”