Trump learns limits of power

I’d like to take a moment to thank President Trump.

Thank you, Mr. President, for revitalizing Americans’ interest in the political process. Thank you for reminding us that a president, no matter how tyrannical he acts, lacks absolute power.

This week was a Civics 101 lesson for the nation. It began with several reports from the real news Washington Post and New York Times that revealed Trump spilled secrets to the Russian government and asked then-FBI director James Comey to drop an investigation into fired national security adviser Michael Flynn.

These reports came a week after Trump fired Comey, just as the FBI was amping up its investigation into potential collusion between the Trump presidential campaign and the Russians.

For the 65 percent of Americans who disapprove of Trump, it felt like the walls were crumbling and we were diving deep into a constitutional crisis.

Then something wondrous happened. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein called for backup, hiring former FBI director Robert Mueller as special counsel to finish the investigation Comey started.

The move came the same day the White House repeatedly said there was no need for special counsel (or, as Trump called it on Twitter, “councel.” It’s not a prerequisite that a president know how to spell, but can’t he at least have the discipline to spellcheck before tweeting to his 30 million followers?)

The White House didn’t even know about the Mueller hire until an hour before it went public. Rosenstein’s boss, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, also was in the dark.

Normally it would be up to Sessions to hire special counsel, but he recused himself from the Russia investigation. Does anyone think Sessions, a fierce Trump loyalist, would have hired Mueller?

No, it took the guts of an independentminded, previously anonymous deputy attorney general who fired Comey at Trump’s behest and knew an impartial counsel was needed to finish the collusion investigation. Trump had no say.

In theory, Trump could order Sessions to fire Rosenstein. And Sessions could hire a new deputy attorney general who would then fire Mueller. But that would be political suicide for Trump. He has no real choice but to sit back and let Mueller investigate.

If there was no collusion, as Trump insists, he should welcome the investigation. Mueller will find no wrongdoing and Trump and his associates will be vindicated.

That’s the approach Trump initially took on Wednesday, releasing a statement that read: “As I have stated many times, a thorough investigation will confirm what we already know — there was no collusion between my campaign and any foreign entity. I look forward to this matter concluding quickly.”

But then came the Thursday morning tweets when it was Trump — and not some spinmeisters — behind the keyboard.

“With all of the illegal acts that took place in the Clinton campaign & Obama Administration, there was never a special councel appointed!” Trump tweeted.

“This is the single greatest witch hunt of a politician in American history!” he added.

Trump is sweating this investigation. And Mueller is the perfect man for the job.

Mueller was appointed FBI director by Republican president George W. Bush. His 10-year term was extended an additional two years by Democratic president Barack Obama. Mueller won’t be swayed by politics.

In the meantime, the safeguards are working. Trump can still do plenty of damage from the Oval Office when it comes to issues like foreign policy and the environment. But there are a lot of smart, honest behind-the-scenes people like Rosenstein and former acting attorney general Sally Yates who understand the limits of presidential power and won’t let Trump abuse it.

They deserve the most gratitude.

Contact Andrew Abramson at aabramson@sunsentinel.com. Twitter @AbramsonFL

Trump is sweating this investigation. And Mueller is the perfect man for the job.