Congress Must Protect Mueller's Trump-Russia Investigation
(Bloomberg View) -- It's well past time for Speaker of the House Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to stand up and protect special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian sabotage of the 2016 presidential election.
The proposed bill, authored by two Democrats and two Republicans, provides for expedited judicial review in the event the special counsel is fired. It would allow the special counsel to challenge any termination that he believes was not executed for good cause.
This is nonsense. After numerous indictments and guilty pleas already obtained by Mueller, and a related investigation that led to a raid last week by federal agents on the office, home and hotel room of Trump's personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, the president continues to attack the Mueller investigation, calling it "fake and corrupt" and a "total witch hunt."
Trump long ago sought to derail Mueller, ordering White House counsel, Donald McGahn, to tell the Justice Department to shut down the investigation. McGahn rightly refused.
Trump's eagerness to escape scrutiny does point to a problem with legislation to protect Mueller: The president would likely veto any such measure. Nonetheless, as he rages against the rule of law, Congress should acknowledge its duty to uphold it. One veto-proof way would be a sense-of-Congress resolution to put lawmakers on record in support of letting Mueller complete his investigation. Such resolutions have been used in the past to signal congressional resolve. Though lacking the power of law, a resolution would draw a line and warn the president not to cross it.
Enough with the stalling. Failure to act could be the prelude to a constitutional crisis. Ryan and McConnell must protect Mueller's investigation.
To contact the senior editor responsible for Bloomberg View’s editorials: David Shipley at davidshipley@bloomberg.net.
For more columns from Bloomberg View, visit http://www.bloomberg.com/view.
©2018 Bloomberg L.P.