Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, is pushing for the Senate to consider legislation that would protect special counsel Robert Mueller from being fired by President Trump, amid concerns the Russia probe is in jeopardy after Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ ouster.
Trump Wednesday named Matthew Whitaker acting attorney general after pushing Sessions to resign. Whitaker is now overseeing the Mueller investigation rather than Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who had long been in charge. That’s raised alarms among Trump critics that the president is trying to quash the investigation.
“Under Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein’s leadership, the Special Counsel has been given all of the resources that he has needed to follow the evidence wherever it may lead,” Collins said in a statement Friday. “I am concerned about comments that Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker has made regarding the Special Counsel and the parameters of his investigation. Although Mr. Rosenstein remains in charge of day-to-day oversight, Mr. Whitaker has the authority to intervene at any time in contrast to the recusal of former Attorney General Jeff Sessions.”
The legislation, which was introduced in April, passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee and would require that the only figure with the authority to remove or penalize the special counsel be the highest ranking official at the Justice Department confirmed by the Senate — in this case Rosenstein.
The measure would also mandate a special counsel could only be removed from his or her post in the event of misconduct, dereliction of duty, incapacity, conflict of interest, or other “good cause.”
Collins noted that Whitaker is not a Senate-confirmed official and urged for the Senate to bring the legislation to the floor for further debate and passage.
“Senate debate and passage of this bill would send a powerful message that Mr. Mueller must be able to complete his work unimpeded,” Collins said.
Under Senate rules, any lawmaker can bring up a measure for consideration. However, if even one lawmaker opposes the move, the request will not advance.
Other Republicans, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., believe the legislation is superfluous since they don’t believe Trump will oust Mueller. Trump has long railed against the Mueller investigation, characterizing it as a “witch hunt,” among other criticisms.
