What does Jeff Sessions’s ouster mean for Robert Mueller? Here are 3 scenarios.
"Secret Waiver Clears Possible Donald Trump Russia Rod Rosenstein Replacement | Rachel Maddow | MSNBC"
The new acting attorney general Matt Whitaker could try to shut things down. Or he could more subtly interfere.
By Andrew Prokopandrew@vox.com Updated Nov 7, 2018, 5:31pm EST
Robert Mueller Win McNamee/Getty Images
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Whitaker could act as a total hatchet man and kill the investigation entirely. He could carry out more subtle interference by letting Mueller continue but limiting what he can do. Or he could, in the end, let the work continue.
Scenario No. 1: Whitaker as the hatchet man who ends the probe
The most alarming scenario is Trump has installed Whitaker specifically to do the president’s bidding and thwart the probe — completely shutting things down to protect the president.
Whitaker was harshly critical of the investigation in those public comments he made last year before joining the Justice Department. He’s known to be close to the White House. And Trump has signaled that he won’t be in the attorney general job for long, writing, “A permanent replacement will be nominated at a later date.”
The logic seems appealing: put a loyalist in for the time being, have him do the president’s dirty work by getting rid of Mueller and ending the probe, and then nominate a new attorney general.
Whitaker probably could end the Russia investigation, if he wanted to do so badly enough. But there are some obstacles.
For instance, Rod Rosenstein has testified that he believes that he can legally only fire Mueller if there is “good cause” to do so — and that he’s seen no such good cause. There’s also the potential problem of Whitaker exposing himself to potential obstruction of justice charges at a later date, should he act with corrupt intent to end the investigation. House Democrats will be empowered to investigate whatever Whitaker does when their new majority is sworn in next year, and they surely will.
Additionally, there’s the expected political blowback from suddenly ending the investigation outright. “I could fire everybody right now. But I do not want to stop it, because politically I do not like to stop it,” Trump said Wednesday.
Scenario No. 2: Whitaker lets Mueller continue, but reins him in
Whitaker, too, shied away from calling for Mueller’s firing in his public comments on the matter last year. What he suggested was that Sessions’s eventual replacement should seem to let the special counsel continue — but that he should make behind the scenes moves to interfere with things.
One suggestion from Whitaker was that the new AG should cut Mueller’s budget “so low that his investigation grinds to almost a halt.” That would not be a particularly subtle way of interfering, and would certainly cause the Trump administration problems on the Hill.
But there are more subtle things Whitaker could do to give Mueller a hard time. For instance, he could refuse to sign off on certain new investigative moves or further expansion of the probe. Or he could try and ensure that, should Mueller write a report on Russian interference, it wouldn’t be given to Congress.
Or, as Whitaker once alluded in a tweet, the attorney general could decide not to release Mueller’s findings to the public.
Ari: Dems. Crushed Trump In Biggest Midterm Blowout In 40 Years | The Beat With Ari Melber | MSNBC
MSNBC Published on Nov 8, 2018
In a Special Report, Ari Melber breaks down how Democrats had a decisive victory in the 2018 midterm elections, winning more House seats than they have in 40 years. Melber examines the myth of divided Government and shows how Americans have not been going back-and-forth in deciding which party should win the White House, but have in fact, by popular vote, preferred a Democrat for President in 6 of the last 7 Presidential races.
As in 2016 more Americans chose Democrats than chose Trump. See the graph at 2:05 to explain why Ari sees this election win as an historic Dem blue wave. Forecast 35 net gains in House the largest gain for Democrats since 1976, a reaction then to the Nixon criminal administration. Ari disagrees with the divided country angle. In six of the last seven presidential elections voters preferred a Democrat. The Senate favors small red States and conservative politicians have rigged the House. In 2012 Dems won the House vote by 2.1%, still they got Boehner. Ari believes the growing "democracy deficit" in America is a problem.
Fmr. Russia Probe Boss: Whitaker Could Trigger 'Ethics Civil War' | The Beat With Ari Melber | MSNBC
MSNBC Published on Nov 8, 2018
New audio has been unearthed of President Trump’s pick to replace Attorney General Jeff Sessions, denying Russia interfered with the U.S. election and laying out an argument for his own recusal. Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker previously argued that just the “appearance” of bias, should prompt recusal. Watergate Prosecutor Nick Akerman tells Ari Melber that the Government wouldn’t even put Whitaker on a jury, as a result of the public bias he’s demonstrated with regards to the Russia investigation.
Maybe Whitaker with his earlier comments was angling for the job, and now that he's there will not be keen to become too involved in Trump's obstruction of justice play.
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