Senate Democrats are once again on edge that President Trump is close to firing Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein after multiple signals came out of the White House Monday that Rosenstein was fired or planned to soon resign.
“I think with this White House you have to prepare for every scenario,” Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., said of the possibility Trump could fire Rosenstein on Thursday.
Warner, who serves as ranking member on the Senate Intelligence Committee said he hadn’t spoken to the committee’s chairman, Richard Burr, R-N.C., as of Tuesday morning about efforts to shield special counsel Robert Mueller. But likely would soon.
Rosenstein is scheduled to meet with Trump at the White House Thursday to discuss recent news stories about the deputy attorney general. The sitdown comes after reports that Rosenstein suggested using the 25th Amendment to declare Trump unfit and proposed secretly taping the president. Rosenstein said the New York Times story was “inaccurate and factually incorrect.”
Trump has not been quiet about his disdain for the Justice Department’s handling of the Russia investigation, repeatedly attacking Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Rosenstein for not intervening in Mueller’s ongoing probe, which is also investigating potential ties between Trump’s campaign and Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said he’s spoken “informally” with some of his colleagues about protecting Mueller. As pressure on Rosenstein increases, he said, the interest in shielding Mueller is “intensifying.”
If Trump fires Rosenstein, Blumenthal said, “It’s a break the glass moment.”
“Our democracy would be under attack,” Blumenthal said. It would be an “attack on rule of law and potentially on [the] special counsel.”
If Rosenstein were fired or forced to resign, Democrats worry, Mueller’s investigation could be upended. Though it’s unlikely that Mueller’s work would be immediately impacted, Rosenstein’s replacement could make it more difficult for the special counsel to carry out his investigation, by declaring some steps of the probe inappropriate, The Atlantic reports.
In April the Senate Judiciary Committee advanced a bill that would protect Mueller from being fired — something Rosenstein or his replacement has the power to do. But Senate Republican leadership has not brought it to the floor for a full vote in the chamber.
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., said Mueller needs to be allowed to do his job. “This is not a banana republic,” he said, but added that “it remains to be seen” what Democrats can even do if Rosenstein is fired.
Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., said he thinks it’s more likely that Trump fires Rosenstein after the November election to avoid repercussions at the ballot box.
“Trump’s chomping at the bit to fire Rosenstein,” Murphy said. “He’s basically telegraphed he’s going to do it after the election. ”
The “confusion” on Monday morning surrounding Rosenstein’s future, Murphy said, “just raises the stakes for this election.”
“If folks want a check on this president then they need to come out and show it in the polls,” Murphy said. “We all know what [Trump’s] going to try and do as soon as this election is over and it will be a lot harder if Democrats are in control of Congress.”
