Newt’s weird view of case
How Don’s I’m-being-probed tweet hurts him
PRESIDENT TRUMP acknowledged Friday he’s under investigation for firing FBI Director James Comeywhile complaining about a top Justice Department official overseeing the probe — a move experts say could dig his legal hole even deeper.
“I am being investigated for firing the FBI director by the man who told me to fire the FBI director!” Trump tweeted. “Witch Hunt.”
Trump was referring to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who, ABC News reported not long after the tweet, had recently admitted to colleagues that he may have to recuse himself from the ongoing federal probe into whether associates of Trump coordinated with Russian efforts to meddle in the 2016 race.
Rosenstein was the author of a memo that Trump used as a rationale to fire FBI Director James Comey — a move that’s resulted in an obstruction of justice probe against the President.
Regardless of Rosenstein’s role in the unfolding controversy, experts told the Daily News that Trump’s tweet about him was bound to help special prosecutor Robert Mueller build an obstruction case.
“It really hurts him, because it shows he’s trying to change his story” about firing Comey, attorney Nick Akerman, who worked as an assistant special prosecutor during Watergate, explained.
Richard Painter, who served as President George W. Bush’s chief ethics lawyer, told The News that Trump’s latest tweet also signals he is laying the groundwork to have Rosenstein recuse himself — which would further complicate a case.
“I think he’s trying to force Rosenstein to quit his job or recuse himself, and then maybe somewhere down the line someone other than Rosenstein is supervising Mueller,” he said.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said Trump’s intentions were clear. “The message the President is sending through his tweets is that he believes the rule of law doesn’t apply to him and that anyone who thinks otherwise will be fired,” she said.
While Mueller is now leading the investigation, Rosenstein still maintains the authority to make final decisions about adding resources and personnel to the probe and, most critically, over whether any prosecutions should be pursued.
Trump advisers and confidants told The Associated Press he is increasingly angry over the probe, yelling at TVs in the White House and insisting he is the target of a conspiracy to discredit his presidency.
Meanwhile, the top lawyer for Trump’s transition team ordered staffers to preserve all materials related to the widening probe. The President also hired another lawyer to represent him, according to reports. NEWT GINGRICH, who as House speaker in the 1990s voted to impeach President Bill Clinton for obstruction of justice, said Friday that the “President cannot obstruct justice.” “The President of the United States is the chief executive officer of the United States. If he wants to fire the FBI director, all he has to do is fire him,” the Trump booster said during a speech at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. Gingrich's comments immediately sparked brushback on social media, where political observers were quick to note that the former Georgia congressman had voted to impeach Clinton on articles that included a charge of obstructing justice.