Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, warned President Trump firing special counsel Robert Mueller could lead to impeachment, becoming one of the first congressional Republicans to mention impeachment directly.
“Firing Mr. Mueller would be a grave error. It would trigger a crisis, possibly even impeachment,” Hatch said in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece published Tuesday night. “It would threaten many of the administration’s accomplishments and make continued progress virtually impossible.”
In his op-ed, Hatch endorsed the proposed legislation aimed at protect Mueller from being fired by Trump, or, for that matter, any president from firing a counsel appointed to investigating potential presidential misconduct.
However, Hatch wrote having an independent prosecutor involved in either of the three branches of government has proven to be a mistake in the past.
“Freed from political accountability and meaningful oversight, independent prosecutors become a law unto themselves,” Hatch said.
Even though he believes it has been a mistake to endorse these types of investigations in the past, Hatch said he will join his colleagues in supporting legislation that sends a message to the White House that Mueller should be able to complete his investigation.
“The special counsel must be permitted to complete his investigation. President Trump should not, and I believe will not, end the investigation,” Hatch said.
