Numerous reports from the first two years of Trump’s presidency have proven that the president has attempted to fire Special Counsel Robert Mueller, just as he once did FBI Director James Comey, to end the probe into the alleged conspiracy between the 2016 Trump campaign and Russian government operatives.
Inbox: Today, the incoming House Judiciary Chair, Rep. Jerrold Nadler, along with Reps. Sheila Jackson Lee and Steve Cohen introduced the Special Counsel Independence and Integrity Act, bipartisan legislation to protect the Special Counsel investigation.
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) January 3, 2019
Although there has been bipartisan support for a congressional bill to protect Mueller and allow his investigation to move forward without interference from Trump, that bill was never allowed to be put forward. With House Democrats finally in charge, it was one of their first moves.
According to the NY Daily News:
‘The legislation, dubbed the “Special Counsel Independence and Integrity Act,” has received bipartisan backing in the past, but Trump-loyal Republican House brass and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) blocked the measure from ever becoming law.’
Democrat Rep. Jerrold Nadler: GOP trying to lay groundwork to fire Mueller https://t.co/YedhWTiZ32
— OutFrontCNN (@OutFrontCNN) December 14, 2017
Trump has not only fired Comey, but also his own appointee as attorney general, Jeff Sessions, because he wanted an AG that would interfere and hamstring the investigation. His co-conspirator in leaving the Mueller investigation vulnerable to presidential meddling has been Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who also blocked President Obama from telling the American people during the elections that Russian election meddling was taking place.
‘For the last two years, House Republican leadership sat idly by, and often joined in, as President Trump attempted more than once to fire Special Counsel Robert Mueller and launched serious attacks on senior Department of Justice officials in an effort to end the Russia investigation…now is the time for Congress to finally act and pass this legislation to protect the integrity of the Special Counsel’s investigation and the rule of law.’
Incoming House Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler said that if it is proven Trump directed Michael Cohen to commit campaign finance violations, those actions would be "impeachable offenses." https://t.co/uvbmzXxkep
— Axios (@axios) December 9, 2018
Trump’s new acting attorney general, Matt Whitaker, was chosen over the deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein, mostly due to his publicly stated anti-Mueller leanings. Although ethics committees have advised Whitaker to recuse himself from all matters involving the Mueller investigation due to those statements, he has so far refused to do so.
‘Trump, who has continuously attacked Mueller’s legitimacy, threw the special counsel probe into jeopardy by forcing former Attorney General Jeff Sessions to step down and naming Matthew Whitaker as his temporary replacement shortly after the midterm elections in November.
‘Whitaker, who did not work in a Senate-confirmed capacity prior to his appointment, has publicly criticized Mueller’s work in the past and even echoed the President in calling the investigation a “witch hunt.”’
WATCH: Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) tells Chuck Todd that obfuscation from the Trump campaign about doing business in Russia “gave the Kremlin a hold over him.” #MTP.@RepJerryNadler: “It may be that the Kremlin has leverage over the president” pic.twitter.com/sFOjmwhH9e
— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) December 2, 2018
Featured image via Flickr by Azi Paybarah under a Creative Commons license
