Trump’s lawyer, Jay Sekulow invoked Trump’s Article 1 powers under the Constitution to justify the President’s firing of James Comey, which suggests that Trump believes that he could use the same path to fire special counsel Robert Mueller.
Video:
Holy crap. This exchange between Chris Wallace and Trump's lawyer is absolutely incredible. pic.twitter.com/Wem33Lc1VK
— David Mack (@davidmackau) June 18, 2017
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Transcript via Fox News Sunday:
WALLACE: Sir, you just said two times that he’s being investigated.
SEKULOW: No. The context of the tweet, I just gave you the legal theory, Chris, of how the Constitution works. If, in fact, it was correct that the president was being investigated, he would be investigating for taking action that an agency told him to take. So that is protected under the Constitution as his article one power. That’s all I said. So I appreciate you trying to rephrase it, but I’m just being really direct with you, Chris. This is — let me be —
What is chilling is that Trump’s lawyer is suggesting that Donald Trump can do whatever he wants regardless of motive because of their interpretation of the Constitution.
Trump is going to argue that the President can’t commit obstruction of justice because he has unlimited constitutional power over appointments. Using this logic, Trump could fire the deputy attorney general and get rid of the special counsel tomorrow, and his view his actions would be justified under the Constitution.
What Sekulow told Wallace was ominous because it laid out how Trump may try to remove the special counsel.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
