House Democrats win majority, begin making moves to protect Robert Mueller
The Democrats have won majority control of the House of Representatives, and they’re already making moves to ensure that Special Counsel Robert Mueller can see his investigation into Donald Trump all the way through to completion.
Congressman Jerry Nadler is set to become Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, and that gives him extraordinary power over the Department of Justice. He told MSNBC’s Ari Melber late last night that “all options are on the table” when it comes to protecting not only Robert Mueller’s job, but Mueller’s ability to continue doing the job in legitimate fashion. Nadler hinted at moves such as legally requiring Trump and his co-conspirators to preserve all documents, seizing any sealed indictments that Trump might try to quash by firing people, and so on.
This is a crucial declaration, because Donald Trump will soon have to decide whether he wants to try to fire Jeff Sessions, Rod Rosenstein, and/or Robert Mueller during the transition period. Jerry Nadler is making clear that if Trump does try anything, he’ll end up quickly regretting it once the Democrats officially take control of the House in early January.
Considering Donald Trump’s penchant for talking a big game and then playing things tepidly whenever he fears things might blow back on him, Jerry Nadler’s words could be enough to convince Trump to play it safe by not trying to fire Mueller or Rosenstein during the transition period. It might be another story with Jeff Sessions. But Nadler also made clear to MSNBC that if Trump tries to replace Sessions with anyone “suspicious,” there will be hell to pay.
