Trump’s attacks on Robert Mueller have been met with warnings across Congress that he better back away from the Special Counsel or face dire consequences.
Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC) warned on Fox News Sunday that the Senate has leverage over Trump, ” Well, I’m not sure the House can do a lot. We don’t have advice and consent. I think the president is going to have a really difficult time nominating and having approved another attorney general. It’s going to be — I would just counsel the president, it’s going to be very, very long bad 2018. And it’s going to be distracting from other things that he wants to do and was elected to do. Let it play out its course. If you’ve done nothing wrong, you should want the investigation to be as wholesome and thorough as possible.”
In the Senate, Democratic leader Sen. Chuck Schumer warned of severe consequences for Trump if he acts against Mueller, “The president, the administration, and his legal team must not take any steps to curtail, interfere with, or end the special counsel’s investigation or there will be severe consequences from both Democrats and Republicans.”
Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) warned that the Senate would act against Trump if he goes after Mueller, “I mean, talking to my colleagues all along, it was, you know, once he goes after Mueller, then we will take action,“I think that people see that as a massive red line that can’t be crossed. So, I hope that that’s the case. And I would just hope that enough people would prevail on the president now: ‘Don’t go there.‘”
Video of Flake on CNN’s State Of The Union:
Jeff Flake says the Senate will act if Trump goes after Robert Mueller. https://t.co/Gdf88Xl5iP #RussiaInvestigation pic.twitter.com/NoK5nxBGt3
— Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) March 18, 2018
If Trump tries to fire Mueller, it will be up to the Senate to protect the Special Counsel. It is expected over the next few days that Republicans are going to pressure Trump to leave the special counsel alone.
I don’t buy that Republicans will act if Trump tries to move on Mueller. There is enough support in the Senate to pass a bill protecting Mueller, but Senators have struggled to agree on a final bill, and it would be up to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to bring a bill to the floor for a vote. I think that the Senate will wait until they can’t avoid the threat any longer before they try to act.
If Republicans act to protect Mueller, they won’t do out of concern for democracy, but because they are facing massive losses in the midterm. Republicans may save Mueller because the Special Counsel keeps the Russia scandal out of their reelection campaigns.
However, when it comes to promises that the Senate will defy Trump, we all should wait to see it before we believe it.
For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
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