Adam Schiff Blasts Republicans For Not Protecting Mueller From Trump’s Nixonian Crimes

The ranking member on the House Intelligence Committee, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) took aim at Republicans in Congress for refusing to protect Special Counsel Robert Mueller from Trump’s Nixonian crimes.

In a statement provided to PoliticusUSA, Rep. Schiff said, “The reports that the President not only considered firing Special Counsel Mueller, but went so far as to order it, demonstrate the Nixonian lengths this President is prepared to go to protect himself. Congress must make clear that any effort to remove the Special Counsel or impede his work would touch off a constitutional crisis which would imperil this Presidency and do grave damage to our nation. Yet instead of protecting Mueller’s investigation from undue interference, many Republicans in Congress have stepped up their spurious attacks against the Department of Justice, the FBI, and the Special Counsel. It is time for them to put country and rule of law before party.”

Republicans are linking themselves to Trump by enabling his crimes and assisting in the cover-up. Rep. Schiff is correct. A responsible congressional majority would put country first and pass legislation that would protect Mueller from being fired. At the very least, Congress should make it clear to the White House that if Trump fires Mueller, Congress will reappoint him to lead the investigation.

There are may levels of criminality at work in this scandal. Like Trump, Republicans in Congress also had a choice. The Republicans could have chosen to make sure that Trump was isolated in his efforts to destroy and obstruct the investigation. They should have warned Trump that trying to derail the investigation would result in serious consequences. Republicans also should be conducting a full and comprehensive investigation into the Russia scandal in Congress.

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Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell have chosen to do none of these things. Both the Speaker of the House and the Senate Majority Leader have helped Trump try to sabotage the investigations.

The choices of Congressional Republicans have ensured that when Trump goes down, he is taking the entire party with him.

Jason Easley

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