Page 10A
NATION
East Oregonian
Saturday, January 27, 2018
Why it matters: Report that Trump tried to fire Mueller
By TOM LOBIANCO
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — President
Donald Trump pushed back Friday
against reports that he ordered White
House lawyer Don McGahn to fire
special counsel Robert Mueller last
June.
“Fake news, folks. Fake news.
Typical New York Times fake
stories,” Trump retorted dismissively
when asked about it by reporters
at the World Economic Forum in
Davos, Switzerland.
The reports, first by the Times
and then others, said Trump backed
off on his attempt to fire the man
who is investigating him, his elec-
tion campaign’s Russian contacts
and his firings of FBI Director
James Comey and National Security
Adviser Michael Flynn — but only
after lawyer McGahn refused to
relay his directive to the Justice
Department and threatened to quit if
Trump pressed the issue.
In Washington, Mueller’s team
was still on the job Friday, investi-
gating the president and his 2016
election campaign.
So. ...
What if the allegation is true?
After the news came out Thursday
night, Democratic Sen. Mark Warner
of Virginia quickly accused Trump
of crossing “a red line” that should
be met forcibly by lawmakers to
protect the Constitution. Warner
is the ranking Democrat on the
Senate intelligence committee. But
Republicans were quick to dismiss
the report, pointing out that Mueller
had not actually been fired.
Some legal experts noted that
presidents, like anyone else, can
say things they don’t mean when
angry. At the same time, others saw
the alleged Trump order as part of a
pattern of obstruction that could be
pressed by Mueller, disrupting or
even dooming Trump’s presidency.
Would such a presidential
order be illegal?
Jacob Frenkel, a defense lawyer
and former prosecutor, said defense
lawyers would argue that the conver-
sation with McGahn “was an expres-
sion of frustration and irritation, not
an intended personnel action.”
A statement alone, without
follow-up action, can be subject to
different explanations and allow for
reasonable doubt as to the intent, he
indicated.
“It may not be the conclusion that
people want to reach, but sitting back
Laurent Gillieron/Keystone via AP
U.S. President Donald Trump leaves the stage after addressing a plenary session on the last day of
the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, WEF, in Davos, Switzerland, Friday.
and looking at it objectively, the fact
that there was no firing means there
was no obstruction,” Frenkel said.
Andrew Leipold, a professor at
the University of Illinois College of
Law, concurred.
“People say all sorts of things that
they’re going to do, and then they
calm down and they think better of
it and they get talked out of it,” he
said. “Some of this may just be no
more than the president — as all
presidents have done — racing their
engines about things.”
That said, this latest revelation
isn’t the only example of presiden-
tial action that could be seen as an
attempt to interfere with an investi-
gation of Trump and his campaign.
Another is the firing Comey as
FBI director last May. Mueller was
appointed special counsel by Rod
Rosenstein, the deputy attorney
general, after Attorney General Jeff
Sessions stepped aside because of
his own close involvement with the
Trump campaign.
“It is easy to see where this
would be an element or component
to consider as part of an obstruction
mosaic,” Frenkel said.
What does this mean for Muel-
ler’s investigation?
It could have no bearing on the
investigation at all.
0
AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File
In this June 2017 file photo, former FBI Director Robert Mueller, the
special counsel probing Russian interference in the 2016 election,
departs Capitol Hill following a closed door meeting in Washington.
in the White House. More than 20
White House employees have given
interviews to the special counsel’s
investigation into possible obstruc-
tion and Trump campaign ties to
Russian election interference.
John Dowd, one of Trump’s
attorneys, said the White House, in
what he called an “unprecedented”
display of cooperation with Muel-
ler’s investigation, has turned over
more than 20,000 pages of records.
Or it could be part of an obstruc-
tion case against Trump or others.
But that raises a perennial consti-
tutional question: Can the president
be charged in criminal court? Some
in the legal field say yes. More say
no, the only recourse is impeach-
ment by Congress.
Meanwhile, despite the sensa-
tional nature of the Times report,
there is likely little that Mueller
doesn’t already know about events
The president’s 2016 campaign has
turned over more than 1.4 million
pages.
The number of voluntary inter-
views includes eight people from the
White House counsel’s office.
An additional 28 people affiliated
with the Trump campaign have been
interviewed by either the special
counsel or congressional committees
probing Russian election meddling.
Dowd did not name the people nor
provide a breakdown of how many
were interviewed only by Mueller’s
team.
Legal jeopardy aside, what
about political fallout?
Trump’s national approval
numbers are low, but his conserva-
tive base has kept up its solid support
through all the criticism he has come
under in his first year as president.
Why would this be any different?
In Congress, Democrats have
been quick to exploit the report.
Warner called Trump’s actions “a
gross abuse of power.” However,
Republicans noted that the purported
order came long ago and before
Trump surrounded himself with
new lawyers. Since then, his public
demeanor toward Mueller has
changed.
Nonetheless, Senate Republicans
were worried last summer, and GOP
Sens. Lindsey Graham and Thom
Tillis introduced legislation that
would protect the special counsel.
But that hasn’t gone anywhere.
Trump has softened his public
criticism of Mueller, White House
officials say over and over that he has
nothing to hide, and his lawyers have
signaled they are cooperating, too.
Tillis spokesman Daniel Keylin
says that since the legislation
was introduced, “the chatter that
the administration is considering
removing special counsel Mueller
has completely come to a halt.”
What now?
Mueller’s investigators hope to
interview Trump soon.
This week, the president declared
he was eager to do it — and under
oath.
“I’m looking forward to it,
actually,” Trump said when asked
by reporters. As for timing, he said,
“I guess they’re talking about two or
three weeks, but I’d love to do it.”
His lawyers walked that back a
bit. No interview has been agreed to,
all sides agreed.
The story of Trump’s alleged
effort to sack Mueller added just one
more question.
UP
TO
60
MONTHS
%
GET
on select new 2017 & 2018 Toyota models.
On Approved Credit
NEW 2018
COROLLA
$
$
235
NEW 2018
NEW 2018
CAMRY
SE
/MO
On Approved
Credit
0 CASH DOWN!
269
$
$
RAV4
LE
/MO
On Approved
Credit
304
$
0 CASH DOWN!
AWD LE
$
/MO
On Approved
Credit
0 CASH DOWN!
Stk #18H167 New 2018 Toyota Corolla se. Sale $20,522. GFU $11,685. Net Cap Cost $20,157.67. MSRP $21,639. After $1,250 rebate by Toyota Financial Services. 36 month/12k mile per year lease at $0 cash down = $235/mo. On approved credit. No security deposit required. Plus tax, title and $75 doc fee.
Stk #18H146 New 2018 Toyota Camry LE. Sale $23,583.67. GFU $13,832. After $1,000 rebate by Toyota Financial Services. 36 month/12k mile per year lease at $0 cash down = $269/mo. On approved credit. No security deposit required. Plus tax, title and $75 doc fee.
Stk #18H078 New 2018 Toyota Rav4 LE AWD. Sale $26,153. GFU $15,580. Net Cap Cost $26,106.24. After $1,000 rebate by Toyota Financial Services. 36 month/12k mile per year lease at $0 cash down = $304/mo. On approved credit. No security deposit required. Plus tax, title and $75 doc fee.
For all leases: Subvention cash from Toyota Motor Sales (TMS), not applicable for cash back offers and must qualify for cash through Toyota Financial Services, does not include college or military rebate. Based on 12k miles per year lease. Available to qualified customers through Toyota Financial Services, except Tacoma lease which is on approved credit thru US Bank. Not all customers will qualify. $350 disposition fee due at lease end.
For all offers: Offers cannot be combined, other restrictions may apply. See dealer for details. A documentary service fee of $75 will be added to vehicle price or capitalized cost. Does not include taxes, license, title, processing fees, insurance and dealer charges. Subject to availability. Must take retail delivery from dealer stock by 1/31/18.