Congress must protect Mueller if Trump fires Rod Rosenstein

Scott Shelton There have been doubts surrounding Rod Rosenstein’s job, according to mixed reports on Monday. Because of this, I believe Congress must create legislation protecting Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation from executive interference. Rosenstein is the primary obstacle between Trump and Mueller’s investigation, which Rosenstein oversees after Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from the Russia investigation. Now, Rosenstein is meeting with Trump on Thursday in light of the New York Times report in which he discussed wearing a wire around Trump and persuading cabinet members to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office for being unfit. If Rosenstein is fired and the Mueller investigation ends up being dissolved, our country will have to deal with an unjust overreach of executive power that will set dangerous precedents if not addressed right now. The White House sent mixed signals Monday on whether the deputy attorney general will resign or be fired. According to The New York Times, Mueller’s investigation, which began in May 2017, has indicted 32 people and three companies during its course. Of the 32 indicted, 25 are Russian intelligence officers or Russian nationals. It is not a witch hunt as the president suggests. It has become increasingly evident that something happened between Russia and the Trump campaign to influence the election. As the investigation gets closer to him, Trump is becoming increasingly frustrated with Mueller. The New York Times reported that Trump tried to shut down Mueller’s investigation in December 2017. It would be extremely inappropriate if a president of the United States can shut down an investigation into his campaign because he thinks it might incriminate him, his family or anyone close to him. The United States Congress, controlled by Republicans, bears some responsibility too, as they have the power to pass a bill protecting the investigation’s existence. In April, the Senate judiciary committee passed a bipartisan bill to protect Mueller, but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell did not allow the proposal to get a vote on the Senate floor because he did not consider it necessary. The Constitution calls for all three branches of government to be checks of each other and to balance the power of the government, but many Republicans in Congress, particularly McConnell, seem to act subservient to Trump instead of as equals. The need for protecting the special counsel has been clear for almost a year now. With the possibility of Rosenstein being fired, America needs to know that an independent counsel investigating the president’s campaign will be protected.