Posted on 11/10/2018 9:31:57 AM PST by yesthatjallen
House Democrats are racing to protect the special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe, and they’re not waiting until they assume the majority to do so.
Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) organized an emergency conference call on Thursday between rank-and-file Democrats and the top members on investigative committees to discuss President Trump’s decision to fire Attorney General Jeff Sessions, and to replace him with an official who has repeatedly criticized the Mueller probe.
On the call, Democrats contemplated their next steps, and Rep. Jerry Nadler (N.Y.) warned members they are facing a “crisis moment.”
After the call, Nadler, the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, announced on CNN that Democrats may insist on including protections for the Russia probe in the next government funding bill, though such a demand could trigger a shutdown fight if they follow through.
“We can urge — and we will — that the bill I introduced that would protect the independence of the special counsel, saying he can only be dismissed for [due] cause ... We can insist that that be a condition of passage of the remaining legislation to fund the government,” Nadler said.
Calls for the GOP to hold emergency hearings and demands for the acting attorney general to recuse himself have so far gone unanswered, underscoring a harsh reality for Democrats: they are still in the minority for another two months and have little power.
Still, their efforts send a clear signal that Democrats are gearing up to make the issue a top investigative priority starting in January.
In an interview with The Hill, Rep. Adam Schiff (Calif.), the Democrat likely to lead the House Intelligence Committee during the next Congress, is already signaling an interest in interviewing Sessions about his firing.
“On this particular question of what led up to his firing or what information he may have in terms of obstruction to justice, I think that will be of interest to not only our committee but the Judiciary Committee and others as well,” Schiff said.
Democrats are vowing to conduct rigorous oversight and hold the administration accountable, something they say the GOP failed to do.
“We have watched the Republican Majority abdicate it’s role of providing a check to abuses of power, and we must start holding people accountable for their actions,” a Judiciary Committee spokesman told The Hill in a statement when asked about Trump’s firing of Sessions.
Trump has repeatedly bashed Mueller’s probe as a witch hunt, and his appointment of Matthew Whitaker as acting attorney general has renewed fears that he wants to quash the investigation.
Trump has denied this, and called a question Friday about whether he wanted to rein in the probe a “stupid question.”
Whitaker has spoken of curbing funding for Mueller’s probe until it can’t move forward, among other criticisms.
Whitaker’s appointment represents a scenario Democrats have warned about: that Trump could replace Sessions, and by extension Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who had been overseeing the matter, with someone more intent in hindering it.
Democrats are scrambling for answers.
There is growing chatter about trying to attach language to a must-pass spending bill that would protect the investigation by giving the special counsel an “expedited review” of their firing. Under that scenario, if a court determines that a firing wasn't for “good cause,” the special counsel would be reinstated.
Government funding for several agencies runs dry on Dec. 7.
The Senate Judiciary Committee passed a similar Mueller protection bill earlier this year, but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has refused to bring the legislation to a vote, stating that it is not necessary. House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) has echoed a similar message.
Pelosi brought up the idea of attaching Mueller protections to a government funding package during an interview with CNN on Thursday night.
“Leader Schumer and I, early on, had called upon our leadership counterparts to include [on] our appropriations bill legislation that would say that the counsel cannot be fired without due cause,” Pelosi said.
McConnell on Friday repeated his opposition to such legislation, which he said was unnecessary.
Democrats also sent a flurry of letters this week to Whitaker and Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) demanding the preservation of critical documents and seeking answers about Sessions’ firing. They want to know how the shakeup at the highest level of the Justice Department will impact the special counsel’s investigation.
They are also increasingly interested in examining the circumstances surrounding Trump’s appointment of Whitaker, who the president recently denied knowing personally.
“We can do several things,” Nadler said on CNN. “We have already sent letters to a lot of people in the Justice Department demanding preservation of all relevant documents. Destruction of those documents would be a crime after that notice.”
Across the Capitol, some Senate Democrats are considering suing the administration over Whittaker’s appointment, though an aide warned that they are still researching the idea.
“We are actively thinking about what a possible legal challenge would look like in this case,” said one Democratic aide. “I would flag this is definitely still in the beginning stages.”
While Democrats warn it is possible Whitaker could order the probe to prematurely come to a close now in his new supervisory position, it is also possible that Mueller is in the process of wrapping up his investigation — a move that may come before House Democrats assume power.
Recent reports signal that the probe may be close to concluding. CNN reported this week that the special counsel is starting to work on the team’s final report based on the investigation’s findings, a move that comes as the president is reportedly reviewing the written answers he plans to submit to the special counsel.
But even if the probe wraps up soon, Democrats — who are itching to use their subpoena powers to investigate the Trump administration next year — are promising to keep the issue in the spotlight. They are planning to examine the matter through holding congressional hearings, demanding relevant records and seeking witness testimonies — including possibly hauling in Sessions.
“We certainly need to know whether the acting attorney general, however long he is in that position, was forced to commit to refuse recusal,” said Schiff, who was spotted ducking in and out of the Democratic cloakroom off the House floor on Thursday, even though Congress is not in session.
“We also need to make sure that none of the information presented to the attorney general about the investigation was shared with the president,” he said in remarks suggesting that Whitaker could leak information to Trump.
Didn't he just lose to Ted Cruze?🤔
A special counsel appointed by a senior DOJ official operates within the DOJ and does not answer to Congress. If Pelosi wants to change his role, she can go back and introduce a new independent counsel statute like the one that Congress allowed to expire back in 1999.
Fine print was “only if the National Debt is paid off and a FReeper wins the big lotto jackpot. Otherwise Rosenstein stays.”
Too bad on all counts.
This is one of those times when the continuing issue is far more important than its resolution. Sure, it costs to keep this ornament in place, but it keeps shining a light on the way it is being propagated, and who is behind its continued existence.
The inquiry has wandered a long way away from its original purpose, which was to determine if there had been any interference in US elections by foreign powers, specifically Putin and the Russian Federation.
There is a great deal of fertile ground upon which to proceed with this investigation, only, the focus has to be changed a little. As nothing, NOTHING, has been turned up linking the Team Trump in any way with actual collusion, and certainly no criminal activity, and there are definitely signs that collusion has taken place, follow a few of those crumb trails. Inevitably, they lead back to the Clinton Family Foundation, and its majority stockholders, A whole new series of questions then arises - who funded what, and when? And if any of these links of collusion cross over into criminal activity?
Once that tack was taken, the Democrats would be calling for a shutdown in fifteen minutes. Is that the door they want opened?
I believe that's already the law. All depends on what you define as "due cause".
Let’s see .. the dems’ logic:
Sessions = acceptable passivity
The new acting AG = he is not passive and he does not care for mueller, so he must go.. we’ll call for him to recuse.
Trump is not the spineless GOP.. he’s not about to be stuck with another AG who does nothing and lets you dems run the fake made up show. Figure something else out... you can’t weaken him, by attacks... haven’t you figured that out yet?
You want all the cards out in your favor.. not going to happen with Trump
Trump should promise to fire Mueller if he doesn’t get his wall funding. He has leverage and should use it.
Could he be holding off until 2019 ish?4
Boobus Americanus failed its national IQ test when they elected these Rats.
I agree. Trump has done nothing to interfere with Mueller. It’s a manufactured fear of the left and RINOs.
If Trump wanted to stop Mueller in his tracks he could with one press conference, or maybe a tweet.
“I like to thank Bob Mueller for helping me unmask several deep state operatives and exposing their crimes against the country. Many have now been removed from their positions and more to come. I look forward to the continued partnership with my friend Bob.”
that’s funny...
“What doesn’t make sense is why Trump would wait until after the election to declassify the FISA reports or drop any bombshells...”
The decision came sooner when President Trump announced his intention to declassify. There’s risk in it and Rod Rosenstein made an implicit threat there would be an obstruction of justice charge for the release.
So President Trump decided not to honor the request by Congress at that time and handed it over to DOJ IG Michael Horowitz who is already working on his DOJ IG FISA report.
That pushed the matter beyond the midterms, kept the issue clean for Rat usage and also kept the focus on messaging of proven issues before November.
He is no longer overseeing the witch-hunt. He is sitting in his office....
I hope it’s something to shut the Obama’s up.
I think he held on to it knowing we would lose the House. Now he has something to hold over their heads when they start their investigations.
Just when you think a Republican Congress is run by the biggest bunch of feckless asshats around, Democrats seize control and prove that statement wrong.
He once disagreed with a Democrat, therefore he's hopelessly biased and must recuse himself.
-PJ
Trump hasn’t made a sound, or a move, about firing Mueller.
It’s a dem fantasy, just like they said Kavenaugh would “outlaw abortion”, when not a word was spoken, and Kavenaugh had no discernible history about Roe V Wade.
It’s all democrat “make it up as you go” crap, business as usual for them.
Trump should play “rope-a-dope” with them.
By what authority do the Dems have at this time to demand anything? This throwing their weight around prematurely serves only to intimidate potential challengers within their party for as of yet unelected leadership positions.
“I hope it’s something to shut the Obama’s up.”
Well, not for a while. They’ll be screaming like banshees for quite a while.
Harder to hear ‘em when they are in a federal pen though.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.