Senate Republicans don’t believe legislation is needed to protect special counsel Robert Mueller despite renewed attacks from President Trump and his allies over the weekend.
The president upped the ante over the past few days, and said Monday morning that the special counsel has “massive conflicts of interest” as he continues his investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election. But while Democrats warn those comments are a sign Trump will fire Mueller, Republicans say they see no need to pass a bill protecting Mueller.
“I don’t think that’s going to happen, so I think its not necessary,” said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, who noted that Trump would have to sign any legislation that passes Congress. “I don’t see the necessity for picking that fight right now.”
“I don’t think it’s helpful,” he added.
Trump started after Mueller again over the weekend after Attorney General Jeff Sessions fired Andrew McCabe from the FBI two days before his retirement benefits kicked in. He questioned why Mueller, a Republican, has 13 “hardened” Democrats on his legal team.
Since then, Republicans have warned Trump against going after Mueller in this nature and called out John Dowd, a member of the president’s outside legal team, for calling on Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to end the special counsel probe into Russian interference. Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., chairman of the House Oversights Committee told Dowd to “act like” he has an innocent client.
But other Republicans said those comments don’t worry them enough to pass a bill protecting Mueller.
“No, I’m not at all [concerned],” said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., when asked if he is worried about Mueller being fired. “That’s exactly what [Democrats] did with Ken Starr.”
“Democrats went after Ken Starr saying it was a witch hunt, and nobody talked about firing Ken Starr,” he said. “Unless there’s some reason to fire Mueller, that’s not going to happen and I don’t see a reason.”
There have been several pieces of legislation introduced that would offer for protection in case Trump were to target Mueller’s investigation, including one by Sens. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., and Chris Coons, D-Del., and another by Graham and Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J.
But while it’s unlikely any bill will move, Republicans want Trump to cut out his comments about Mueller and allow his investigation to move forward without interference.
“I would hope that the president would stop commenting and tweeting on Mr. Mueller,” said Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine. “I think that would be much better.”
