The top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee reiterated his stance that any attempt to oust special counsel Robert Mueller is a “gross abuse of power,” just after a report emerged that President Trump attempted to fire Mueller.
“I’ve said it before, and I am saying it again: firing the Special Counsel is a red line that the President cannot cross,” Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., said in a series of tweets Thursday evening. “Any attempt to remove the Special Counsel, pardon key witnesses, or otherwise interfere in the investigation, would be a gross abuse of power. All members of Congress, from both parties, have a responsibility to our Constitution and to our country to make that clear immediately.”
According to a New York Times report, which has since been confirmed by several outlets, White House counsel Donald McGahn warned of the dire consequences of Trump’s order to fire Mueller in June 2017 and threatened to quit rather than inform the Justice Department.
After McGhan’s threat to remove himself Trump back off ordering Mueller’s ouster.
Mueller is leading a team that is investigating whether the Trump campaign colluded with the Kremlin during the 2016 election.
Trump has maintained on multiple occasions that no collusion occurred and has repeatedly called the inquiry a “witch hunt.”
Mueller was chosen to be special counsel in May 2017 after Trump fired FBI Director James Comey.
The Senate Intelligence Committee is one of a handful of congressional panels also investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election, alongside Mueller’s efforts.
