But Top Republicans Back Mueller
canada goose clearance WASHINGTON Several top Republicans in canada goose outlet phone number Congress expressed their support on Sunday for special counsel Robert Mueller following reports that President Donald Trump wanted to fire him,though the party seems to have little appetite for canada goose outlet near me passing legislation that would protect Mueller from such a dismissal. canada goose clearance
TheNew York Times reportedthat Trump in June ordered the firing of Mueller, the special counsel overseeing the Justice Department’s probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 election. The president backed off once the White House Counsel Don McGahn threatened to resign, according to the story. Trump has dismissed the article as “fake news.”
canada goose store House Majority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R Calif.) said on NBC’s “Meet The Press” that he canada goose outlet location had confidence in Mueller but questions canada goose factory outlet vancouver about other officials within the FBI and the Justice Department. canada goose store
buy canada goose jacket cheap “We have an intel committee,” McCarthy said. “It’s their duty and canada goose outlet black friday responsibility for oversight. And that’s what’s moving forward and that has raised a great deal amount of questions.” buy canada goose jacket cheap
Canada Goose online McCarthy canada goose outlet expressed concern canada goose outlet buffalo thattexts canada goose outlet vip between FBI agent Peter Strzok and FBI canadagooseoutleta lawyer Lisa Page, who were having an canada goose outlet in chicago extramarital affair, showed a political bias against Trump. The pair were involved in the FBI’s investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of email as secretary of state and also were part of the early stages of Mueller’s probe. Canada Goose online
Canada Goose Outlet Republicans have used this talking point to argue that there was an effort to help Clinton within the FBI. In reality, as a HuffPost investigation has found,there’s just no evidence that Page and Strzok were canada goose outlet in uk leaking information to undermine Trump. Canada Goose Outlet
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“I have complete confidence canada goose outlet uk sale in Mr. Mueller,” Graham said. “All canada goose outlet black friday sale this stuff about the FBI and [the Department of Justice] having a bias against Trump and for Clinton needs to be canada goose outlet uk looked at. But I have never believed it affected Mr. Mueller.”
Sen. Susan Collins (R Maine) pointed out during a interview on CNN’s “State of the Union” that Trump cannot directly fire Mueller. He would have to pressure Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to do canada goose vest outlet the deed.
Canada Goose sale She said that at a Senate hearing last year she questioned Rosenstein “at length on this issue, and he was adamant that he would never give in to any White House pressure to remove Mr. Mueller.” Canada Goose sale
canada goose coats on sale Collins gave credence to the report that Trump wanted to fire Mueller, saying the president “talked with his counsel, who explained to an angry and frustrated president why it was a bad idea, and that was seven months ago. And the White House counsel is still on the job, and Mr. Mueller is still aggressively investigating. And that’s as it should be.” canada goose coats on sale
She canada goose uk site added that Trump “would be best served by never discussing the investigation, ever, whether in tweets, except in private conversations with his attorney.”
canada goose Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D Conn.) has called on the Senate Judiciary Committee to move forward on legislation making it tougher to fire the special counselin the wake of the Times report. canada goose
buy canada goose jacket One bill, sponsored by Sen. Chris Coons (D Del.), would only allow Mueller to be fired if canada goose outlet online store review “misconduct, dereliction of duty, incapacity, or conflict of interest” occurred. A second, sponsored by Graham and Sen. buy canada goose jacket
cheap Canada Goose On Sunday, Collins said “it probably wouldn’t hurt” to pass a bill making it almost impossible to remove Mueller. canada goose coats uk This is a reversal canada goose jacket outlet uk from her original canada goose outlet florida position on the bills. cheap Canada Goose
canada goose deals “There are some constitutional issues with those bills,” she said. “But it would certainly not hurt to put that extra safeguard canada goose outlet london in place, given the latest stories. But again, I have faith in the deputy attorney general that he’s going to do what he told me he would do.” canada goose deals
canada goose coats Graham, who started pushing his bill in August, doubled down on it on Sunday. canada goose coats
“It would be good to have legislation protecting all special counsels,” he said.
There remains little sign, though, that the pending bills will advance out of the Judiciary Committee.
canada goose black friday sale Graham added that there should be counsels looking into how the DOJ and the FBI handled the Clinton email investigation, as well as the early canada goose outlet los angeles stages of the Russian probe. canada goose black friday sale
Canada Goose Jackets “The text messages between the two FBI agents don’t show political leaning, they show a political bias. I’ve seen a lot of conflicts of interest,” he said. Canada Goose Jackets
canada goose clearance sale McCarthy split from his colleagues on the special counsel bills, meaning any such legislation would face tough sledding in the House. canada goose clearance sale
“I don’t think there’s a need for legislation right now to protect Mueller,” he said. “So we’re raising an issue that’s not [needed].”
McCarthy called on Congress to instead “focus on the budget, because the military needs [its] funding. Why are we playing other games with something else?”.