How Trump Could Derail the Special Counsel Investigation

Slate ^ | DEC. 18 2017 4:47 PM | Asha Rangappa

[Golden Eagle]

All eyes are on what Donald Trump will do, as the oracles on Twitter and the Hill have predicted that the president may fire special counsel Robert S. Mueller around the holidays. Trump’s lawyers have denied that he is considering such a move, and Trump himself has not directly criticized Mueller. However, Trump has recently expressed dissatisfaction with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, calling him “weak” and a threat. Along with those comments, the Washington Post reports that “Trump appeared to be contemplating changes in the Justice Department’s leadership.” In short, there’s a good chance that the guillotine is poised for Rosenstein, not for Mueller....

Removing Rosenstein and replacing him with a DAG who is at the very least more sympathetic to Trump could have drastic repercussions for the investigation. The new DAG could burden the special counsel with a requirement to provide an explanation for every move he makes and then decide that they aren’t necessary or appropriate. A new DAG would even have the ultimate, er, trump card: She could decide at some point that the investigation should not even continue at all...

Since Rosenstein is his own political appointee, Trump has great discretion in deciding whether to remove him, and he can do it quickly and directly. And by removing Rosenstein but not touching Mueller, Trump can claim that he is in fact not trying to interfere with the Russia investigation at all: Indeed, it could be very hard to prove otherwise, which insulates him significantly from further obstruction charges.

[Cletus.D.Yokel]

:: To me, the only true solution is to appoint a non-DOJ person to investigate potential crimes by the DOJ. ::

One name comes to mind for SpecInv: Mr. Donald Rumsfeld. He should fit fine for such a short-term appointment.

[DivineMomentsOfTruth]

Thanks for the link!
Merry Christmas!