Let It Begin…
“Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.” Winston Churchill
Last night the news broke that Special Counsel Mueller has the first sealed grand jury indictment of the Russia investigation. Who was indicted is still unknown (Saturday, October 28), but Trump supporters signaled this was coming by their increased activity.
Here are the headlines:
Trey Gowdy targeting James Comey in new Clinton probe – Washington Examiner,
Rep. Devin Nunes opens investigation into uranium deal under Obama – ABC News,
It is now commonly agreed, after many months of COSTLY looking, that there was NO collusion between Russia and Trump. Was collusion with HC! – Trump Tweet.
As this phase of the Russia Investigation begins the Trump effort to distract, divert and disconcert will continue to grow. The White House firing Robert Mueller is inevitable if he has direct evidence of Trump’s collusion and/or knowledge of collusion. Realistically Trump would have to fire him, if only to obstruct the investigation.
Dana Boente, US Attorney for Eastern Virginia and temporary Assistant Attorney General has announced his retirement. After his long service to both Democratic and Republican administrations, it doesn’t seem too farfetched to believe that he is getting out of the way.
Procedurally, there are two ways to remove Mueller. The most direct would be for the President to order Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to fire him (Attorney General Sessions is removed from the process due to his recusal.) Should Rosenstein refuse, Trump could fire him, and find an Acting Deputy Attorney General to do the dirty work. Currently that person would likely be Boente, who already has served as Acting Attorney General and Acting Deputy Attorney General this year.
This is similar to the “Saturday Night Massacre” of Watergate, when President Nixon ordered Attorney General Elliott Richardson to fire Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox. Richardson resigned. Nixon then ordered Deputy Attorney General William Ruckelshaus to fire Cox. Ruckelshaus refused, and was fired. Next up (at that time) was Solicitor General William Bork, who complied with the Presidential order, and fired Cox. The result of the “Massacre” was that Congress appointed a new Special Prosecutor, Leon Jaworski, who ultimately forced Nixon to release the tapes that proved his guilt in the Watergate coverup.
Special Counsel Mueller’s office exists because of Department of Justice regulation (rather than by law, as was the case with Cox and Jaworski.) The second way that President Trump could remove Mueller would be to simply re-write the regulation so that the Special Counsel office no longer exists. While Attorney General Sessions would still be recused, and Rosenstein would be unlikely to go along, there would be another option for the President. He could move Sessions from the Attorney General’s office to, say, Secretary of Homeland Security. He could then move another Cabinet officer (already approved by the Senate) into the Attorney General’s seat, and then order that person to either fire Mueller directly, or cancel the regulation.
The question remains, how will the Republicans in the House and Senate react to that action. Would, as the Congress did in 1973, they react by putting an even more protected prosecutor in, or will they, as they have demonstrated so far, go along with the Trump Administration’s continuing effort to divert?
If ultimately the Republicans in Congress are more worried about their reelection than what’s right, it will take an act of the American electorate to gain justice. That act would be to elect Democratic majorities in 2018, who could then directly pursue impeachment. That puts us into 2019. So this may well be only; “…the end of the beginning.”
Just in from NBC. Boente asked to step down by Trump Admin. Looks like they’ve thought about another way. Replace Boente – fire Rosenstein – then get Mueller.