Former US Attorney Preet Bharara said Sunday that he believed Special Counsel Robert Mueller would leave no stone unturned, including looking into whether President Trump obstructed justice.
‘I think everything you see from our armchair seats suggests that Robert Mueller is going to chase down everything that might suggest a crime has been committed by any associate, colleague, relative of the president, and also the president himself,’ Bharara told CNN’s Jake Tapper on State of the Union.
When Tapper specifically asked about obstruction, Bharara answered yes.
Former US Attorney Preet Bharara expressed confidence in Special Counsel Robert Mueller and suggested he would look into whether President Trump obstructed justice with his firing of FBI Director James Comey
Preet Bharara (left) sat down with CNN’s Jake Tapper (right) for an interview on State of the Union Sunday
‘I think, clearly, one of the things he’s going to be looking at is obstruction,’ Bharara said.
The former US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, who was let go by President Trump in March, after President-elect Trump had said he could stay on, warned viewers that Mueller’s probe may not necessarily lead to Trump being ousted from office.
‘That does not mean that there will be a referral to the House of Representatives for impeachment,’ Bharara said when speaking of the thoroughness of the Mueller investigation.
‘That does not mean there’s going to be a charge against anyone,’ he added.
But Bharara, who’s now a senior legal analyst for CNN, continued to sing Mueller praises.
‘But I think Bob Mueller, based on my knowledge of him, and based on, I think, what his lifetime of service as a prosecutor, as an FBI director indicates, is that he’s going to look at everything,’ Bharara said.
President Trump’s Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appointed Mueller to take over the FBI’s investigation into Russian meddling in the US election, along with any ties to the Trump campaign, after the president decided to fire FBI Director James Comey.
Trump has indicated he was thinking about the Russia probe when he axed Comey in May, and Comey has since testified before Congress that he believed that was the president’s reason.
Tapper pointed out that CNN had reported that Mueller had interviewed Rosenstein about his role in the firing of Comey, a move the deputy attorney general had recommended.
The CNN newsman also noted how Rosenstein is technically Mueller’s boss, because Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from all things Russia-related.
‘Do you have any concerns about the person overseeing the investigation also being a witness, potentially, to possible crimes committed that Mueller is looking into?’ Tapper asked. ‘Doesn’t that seem like a huge conflict of interests?’
Bharara agreed that it was odd.
‘And to the extent that an obstruction investigation relies a little bit on the facts relating to the firing of Jim Comey, it would seem that there’s a conflict,’ the ex-US attorney said.
He also gave some advice.
‘What I think people should want to know is whether or not, like Jeff Sessions, the deputy attorney general, Rod Rosenstein, has consulted with the top ethics advisers in the department and gotten clearance to continue,’ Bharara said. ‘And, if not, then he shouldn’t.’