It was no secret that President Trump wanted special counsel Robert Mueller out. Now, with opposition gone from Senate Republicans and a majority in the upper house secured in the midterm elections, the president made short work of his attorney general, insisting that his resignation come Wednesday. With that in hand and a loyalist, Matthew Whitaker, as acting attorney general, Trump looks like he might take steps against the Mueller investigation.
One option, suggested by Whitaker in a 2017 CNN interview, would be for the attorney general to simply slash funding for Mueller’s team. As he explained, “I could see a scenario where Jeff Sessions is replaced, it would [be a] recess appointment and that attorney general doesn’t fire Bob Mueller but he just reduces his budget to so low that his investigations grinds to almost a halt.”
That would effectively shut down Mueller’s powers and avoid the unpleasantness of the president overtly slamming the door on an investigation into himself.
That might look like a neat solution, but it’s not.
For one thing, a funding cut would be just as clearly shutting down the investigation as firing Mueller. Given Trump’s taste for primetime theatrics, it would also likely be as dramatic, even if Trump never squeezed in a signature “you’re fired.”
A funding cutoff would also likely generate just as much backlash from Congress and the public as would an outright move to shut down the investigation. And it would be a step too far even for Senate Republicans who have thus far stood by Trump. That escalates the threat of the Senate convicting the president should the Democrat-controlled House move for impeachment and bring charges.
Moreover, if Trump halts the investigation, he also denies himself his best talking point in a 2020 bid: that the Mueller investigation really was a witch hunt that found nothing against him.
If the president truly stands by his innocence as he has asserted over and over again, then letting the investigation run its course and find nothing, or at least nothing significant, is the right call.
Just as Sen. Jeff Flake’s, R-Ariz., successful call for an FBI investigation was able to shore up wavering support for Kavanaugh and boost pubic outrage at grandstanding from Senate Democrats, letting the Mueller investigation quietly plod along could well be a success for Trump and a perfect talking point for 2020.
Perhaps most seriously for the president, directing his attorney general to cut funding would likely be considered obstruction of justice. Even if Trump is found innocent by Mueller and his team, he might well be implicated in trying to prevent the investigation into his campaign.
If he is guilty, and has something to hide, when it all comes out, as these things tend to, he will face additional charges.
Trump is not above the law, and defunding the Mueller investigation would likely be against it.
