What happens if Mueller is fired?
12 April 2018 3:44 PM GMT
Even as the beleaguered U.S. President has been sending off threats and warnings to Russia and Syria of imminent "smart" strikes over the chemical attacks, he is hard put contemplating firing special counsel Robert Mueller. When President Richard Nixon ordered the firing of Watergate special prosecutor Archibald Cox in 1973, he failed to drive a stake through the heart of his investigation. Propelled by the appointment of a new prosecutor, congressional fortitude and public outrage, the Watergate probe continued. That was then. Today, the political atmosphere is different. If President Donald Trump triggers the firing of special counsel Robert Mueller, the fate of the Russia investigation would be thrown in doubt.
Trump has increased his attacks against Mueller's investigation since Monday when the FBI raided the office of his personal attorney Michael Cohen at the referral of the special counsel's office. The increasing speculation over what Trump might do naturally leads to what would happen to the wide-ranging probe into Russian interference and collusion in the 2016 election if the man leading everything is sacked. Multiple Republican lawmakers have warned Trump against sacking Mueller. The President may be feeling new pressure in the wake of the FBI raid on Cohen. He may also hear the clock ticking. With each passing day comes the possibility of additional indictments and, nearer in sight, the midterm elections, when Democrats have a chance to win a majority in the US House of Representatives. If that happens, Democrats would have a new ability to investigate the Republican President.
White House officials insist that Trump does not intend to seek the dismissal of Mueller, who was appointed in May 2017 after Trump fired FBI Director James Comey, then overseeing the collusion with Russia probe. Former prosecutors and legal analysts disagree about the fallout of a possible firing of Mueller, who led the FBI first during the administration of Republican President George W. Bush and then Democratic President Barack Obama. "Bob Mueller is a towering figure, a former Republican-appointed FBI director, uniformly respected by officials. He is irreplaceable in this role," said Ronald Weich, a former federal prosecutor. If the special counsel is removed, what about those already indicted? Since taking over from Comey last year, Mueller has charged 19 people including former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn and Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort. Last week, Alex van der Zwaan, a Dutch lawyer with ties to Manafort, became the first person to be sentenced in Mueller's investigation after he admitted to his guilt. It is difficult to predict what Trump would ultimately do about Mueller even as the clock keeps ticking.
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