Updates | The Week of December 18, 2017
Derek Reinbold // 12/24/17 //
Americans must decide now how they will respond if Special Counsel Mueller is fired, writes Andrew Manuel Crespo at Take Care.
- Danielle Brian, of Project on Government Oversight, argues that President Trump should support Mueller’s investigation to preserve the rule of law.
- Norm Eisen and Richard Painter describe four threats to Mueller (NYT).
A group of House Republicans has secretly gathered for weeks in an effort to build a case that the DOJ and FBI mishandled the use of the Steele Dossier, which alleged ties between President Trump and Russia (Politico).
- Congressional Democrats are claiming that Republican lawmakers, the administration, and conservative media figures are orchestrating a campaign to discredit special counsel Robert Mueller (Politico).
- President Trump’s allies’ attacks on Special Counsel Robert Mueller may give the President cover for future pardons, writes Darren Samuelsohn at Politico.
- Sen. Mark Warner warned President Trump not to fire Mueller or to interfere with the investigation.
- President Trump has the power to fire Mueller, but the Constitution also poses formidable restraints, write John Yoo and Saikrishna Prakash at the LA Times.
- This would be the best time to fire Mueller, writes Harry Litman at the LA Times.
President Trump’s refusal to acknowledge Russian intervention or to hold a Cabinet-level meeting on the subject has endangered America, writes the Washington Post Editorial Board.
Allies of the Trump Administration may be trying to spread doubt about the Russia investigation to provide political cover for future presidential pardons (Politico).
The FBI warned President Trump that Russia would attempt to spy on and infiltrate his campaign in August of 2016 (NBC).
Calls for Mueller’s removal are reminiscent of calls for Kenneth Starr’s removal, writes Callum Borchers for the Washington Post.
Three House Republicans have called for an investigation into leaks from the House Intelligence Committee’s investigation into Russian Interference (Politico).
Rep. Michael Conway, the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, has shrugged off assertions by Democrats that he is rushing the House’s investigation into Russian interference (Politico).
Democratic lawmakers have urged House Speaker Paul Ryan to organize a briefing from the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI on possible Russian targeting of voting systems before the 2016 election (The Hill).
Senate investigators have turned their eyes toward 2016 Green Party candidate Jill Stein in the ongoing Russian interference investigation (NYT).
A lawyer for President Trump claimed Robert Mueller obtained transition emails improperly, while a spokesman for Mueller disputed the claims (NYT, WSJ).
President Trump claimed his “people were very upset” over Mueller’s obtaining of his transition e-mails, but told reporters he had no plans to fire Mueller (WaPo).
Congressional Democrats fear GOP lawmakers are supporting a goal of President Trump firing Robert Mueller (Politico).
Rep. Trey Gowdy said courts, rather than Congress, should resolve President Trump’s lawyers complaint about Mueller’s team (Politico).