Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told Republicans to stop picking on Special Counsel Robert Mueller, who has been appointed to lead an independent investigation into pre-election cyberhacking by Russian operatives.
“I’d urge that these attacks on Mr. Mueller be ceased, and that my friends on the other side of the aisle join me in defending his reputation,” Schumer said in a floor speech. “The critics are going a little too far here.”
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is among the Republicans who are now questioning whether Mueller will conduct an impartial investigation, in part because Mueller is friends with ousted FBI Director James Comey. Comey’s firing will be part of the probe and he has accused Trump of pressuring him to drop his own investigation in the Trump administration.
Schumer also criticized “hard right commentators and pundits” who he said have suddenly turned on Mueller after previously praising his ability to lead the investigation.
“I can find no other legitimate reason why the critics would flip so quickly to attack a man of integrity unless they were worried about what he might find,” Schumer said.
Schumer also warned that Trump should not fire Mueller, although there is no indication Trump is planning such a move.
“What are these people who are attacking Mueller afraid of?” Schumer, D-N.Y., said in a Senate floor speech. “Are they afraid of what Mr. Mueller is going to find? Is the White House afraid of what Mr. Mueller is going to uncover? It seems pretty obvious that if they were not worried they’d let Mr. Mueller proceed, because they would be confident he would find nothing.”
Schumer warned Trump against firing Mueller, referencing President Nixon’s firing of Watergate special prosecutor Archibald Cox, which helped lead to Nixon’s resignation.
“I can’t think of a worse move for the President at this time,” Schumer said. “I would just have him look back in time and see what happened to a president who tried to do the same thing.”
