The New York Times devoted a full page on Monday to an editorial hinting that members of Congress must be prepared to impeach their party’s leader if President Donald Trump fires Special Counsel Robert Mueller.
The 1,350-word manifesto, presented as the opinion of the paper’s editorial board, argues that ‘[i]f Mr. Trump takes such drastic action, he will be striking at the foundation of the American government, attempting to set a precedent that a president, alone among American citizens, is above the law.’
‘What can seem now like a political sideshow will instantly become a constitutional crisis.’
The president has not said he favors getting rid of Mueller, whose appointment to investigate unproven Trump campaign-Russia ties was triggered by a press leak from former FBI director James Comey.
The New York Times warned Republicans in Congress that if President Donald Trump fires Special Counsel Robert Mueller, they should be willing to impeach him
In a lengthy editorial on Monday, Trump’s least-favorite newspaper suggested pink-slipping the man in charge of investigating his presidential campaign’s alleged Russia ties should be beyond the reach of the Oval Office – but since he’s not, Congress must be prepared to step in
The White House believes Trump has the legal authority to fire Mueller (pictured), but doing so could have political consequences that the president may not want to invite
Trump sent Comey packing in May 2017.
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said Sunday she’s ‘not aware’ of any plan to make Mueller his next personnel casualty.
But she said last week that Trump has the legal authority to shutter the investigation that some legal observers believe will ultimately reach him in the Oval Office.
Trump has been openly hostile to the Mueller investigation, calling it a ‘witch hunt.’ He raised the temperature on Twitter after the FBI raided his personal lawyer’s offices a week ago, based partly on a referral by the special counsel’s office.
The Times editorial board, representing a paper Trump has called ‘failing’ and considers a mortal enemy, is anticipating the next shoe to drop.
Trump has been most vocal about his frustration with Mueller since the FBI raid of his lawyer Michael Cohen’s home, hotel room and offices a week ago
Monday’s editorial ran 1,350 words and consumed an entire page in the New York Times print edition
‘If the president does move against the investigators, it will be up to Congress to reaffirm the rule of law, the separation of powers and the American constitutional order,’ Monday’s Times editorial read.
It ends: ‘The president is not a king but a citizen, deserving of the presumption of innocence and other protections, yet also vulnerable to lawful scrutiny.’
‘We hope Mr. Trump recognizes this. If he doesn’t, how Republican lawmakers respond will shape the future not only of this presidency and of one of the country’s great political parties, but of the American experiment itself.’
The editorial begins with a recounting of Bill Clinton’s 1998 impeachment vote in the U.S. Senate, framing the essay in terms of removing a president from office – and hints that a Trump transgression could provide ‘a harsher and more consequential test’ for lawmakers.
Mueller’s operation is part of the Justice Department, which, as part of the Executive Branch, answers to Trump.
His accountability to the president goes through the attorney general, Jeff Sessions. But Sessions recused himself last year from all things Trump-Russia because he had worked on the presidential campaign.
In a recent ABC News/Washington Post poll, large majorities of U.S. adults think Mueller should be allowed to pursue his leads
That makes Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein the one who would have to swing the axe – or resign – if Trump ordered Mueller’s ouster.
The president could fire Rosenstein, and is said to be asking surrogates to publicly articulate arguments for doing just that.
Under the normal order of succession within the Department of Justice, U.S. Solicitor General Noel John Francisco would immediately become ‘acting deputy attorney general.’ Francisco could then fire Mueller, touching off a political conflagration.
Trump could also replace Rosenstein with any administration official who has already survived a Senate confirmation vote. And he could also opt for any DOJ official whose civil-service rank is at least ‘GS-15,’ corresponding roughly to a six-figure salary.
That makes the field of potential Rosenstein successors at least 6,000-strong.