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Optics

He can’t look like he is protecting a Republican President

The time to stop this investigation was before it started.

The Independent Council law is a bad law. It is a blank check to a prosecutor to investigate as long as he wants which will always be until he gets somebody.

The Independent Council law is a bad law. It is a blank check to a prosecutor to investigate as long as he wants which will always be until he gets somebody.

Which is why it was allowed to expire in 1999. Since then, the appointment of a Special Counsel is not part of federal law. Rather it's part of the "Code of Federal Regulations", which operates with force of law regarding government activities unless there's a superseding federal law.

For Mueller's appointment by Rosenstein, there's no superseding federal law, so such an appointment is now under CFR section 600, which was put in place by then Attorney General Janet Reno.

CFR Section 600 clearly states that the appointing (acting) Attorney General must specify the jurisdiction of a special prosecutor. It says, "The Special Counsel will be provided with a specific factual statement of the matter to be investigated". The whole point was to ensure the Special Counsel's jurisdiction did not run wild like Ken Starr's did, going from Whitewater land deal to Monica Lewinsky's blue dress.

The appointment of a Special Counsel must have strong limitations on what he is authorized to investigate and prosecute. It must state facts!

Rosenstein's appointment order did not state any facts. It loosely authorizes Mueller to investigate/prosecute "any links and/or coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the Trump campaign". There's nothing "factual" about that. No facts are provided!

Resenstein's order is unlawful and should be tossed out.

Still, the optics you raise cannot be dismissed. So, maybe it's not the White House legal team. Maybe it's Manafort's lawyers, or even Flynn's lawyers. Maybe Judicial Watch can do it. But someone needs to challenge in court Mueller's jurisdiction on the unlawful Rosenstein order, and take it to the Supreme Court if necessary.