Top Senate Republicans Finally Admit Trump Could Fire Mueller – And Take Action

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Until very recently, most Republicans in the Senate never imagined the president would be crazy enough to attempt to fire special Counsel Robert Mueller. However, in light of recent events, several key Republican Senators changed their tunes.

As such, there is renewed bipartisan support to push a bill that will protect Mueller from President Donald Trump firing him, according to Mother Jones.

THE COHEN RAID

What really started the ball rolling this week was the Monday raid on Trump’s attorney Micheal Cohen. Based on information gained partially from the Mueller investigation, New York-based Department of Justice employees carried out a raid on Cohen’s office.

Trump went public and called the raid “an attack on our country,” among other things. Then, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told the press that Trump believes he has the power to fire Mueller himself (he doesn’t).

This morning, Trump even unleashed a fresh attack on Twitter, aimed largely at Mueller.

With all that new information, Charles Grassley, a Republican from Iowa who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, said he plans to schedule a vote on the legislation as soon as possible.

SPECIAL COUNSEL

A bipartisan group of senators, some of whom are recent converts, reintroduced the legislation, known as the Special Counsel Independence and Integrity Act, Wednesday morning.

Senators Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Thom Tillis (R.-N.C.), Linsey Graham (R-S.C.), and Christopher Coons (D-Del.) are all members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and all co-sponsor the bill.

If passed, it would allow Mueller to request a judicial review of the firing. If the three-judge panel doesn’t find “good cause” for the removal, the special counsel will reattain his position. Although the bill is designed to protect Speical Counsel Robert Mueller, it would protect any future appointed special counsel as well.

The bill also includes a clause that specifies that only a senior Justice Department official holds power to fire special counsel, leaving the president practically powerless to do so.

JUDICIARY COMMITTEE

The bill would have enough backing to clear the judiciary committee and head to the Senate floor, provided Tillis and Graham join the Democrats on the committee in the renewed effort.

The new legislation combines two parts of a bipartisan bill that the co-sponsors proposed last August.

Graham and Tillis both called it a “compromise.”

This is best summed up by a quote from Senator Booker in a statement about the reintroduction of the combined bill.

“A nation of laws cannot exist if the people tasked with enforcing them are subjected to political interference or intimidation from the president.”


Feature Image by Gage Skidmore Via Flickr/CC-By-SA-2.0.