Will Missouri and Kansas senators protect Robert Mueller from President Trump?
If there ever was a moment when we should demand that our Republican senators from Missouri and Kansas step up, this is it.
With President Donald Trump rattling his saber about the possibility that he may soon fire special counsel Robert Mueller or Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, the country appears on the brink of a constitutional crisis that could lead to impeachment. Once again, the phrase “obstruction of justice” hangs in the air, and memories of Richard Nixon’s “Saturday Night massacre” have resurfaced.
This is a defining moment for the nation and for Trump’s presidency, which already has had plenty of them. Few of our nation’s leaders question the grave nature of what could occur in Washington any day now.
Our GOP senators acknowledge that Mueller, whose probe now appears to extend far beyond its initial focus of Russian meddling in the 2016 election, should continue his investigation. But many of their statements lack urgency and the forceful rhetroric so important at a time like this. South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, for one, has said that firing Mueller would mark “the beginning of the end of (Trump’s) presidency.” Iowa Sen. Charles Grassley said such a move would be “suicide” for Trump. Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch tweeted that anyone advising the president to fire Mueller “does not have the president’s or the nation’s best interest at heart.”
But comments like that are too rare among Republicans and are a far cry from what we’re hearing here in Missouri and Kansas. At a time when a bright red line must be drawn, our senators are painting in pastels.
Kansas Sen. Pat Roberts: “The independent counsel must be allowed to finish his work.”
In a statement, Kansas Sen. Jerry Moran called Mueller “well-respected and known to be a person of integrity” whose work “to this point should give the American people confidence in his process.”
“Given the clear evidence of Russian interference in our elections, I have long supported a special counsel investigation,” Moran continued. “The distractions should stop, permitting the special counsel to do his job unimpeded and make certain we prevent future interference by Russia.”
Missouri Sen. Roy Blunt said in a January radio interview that switching investigators at this point “wouldn’t solve the problem.” Mueller, he added, has made some errors, but “it would be a mistake for the president to do anything other than to let him complete that investigation.” Firing Mueller “would be a big mistake.”
Some on Capitol Hill have expressed interest in a resolution spelling out in clear terms what the consequences would be for the firing of either Mueller or Rosenstein. Such a move has merit and would underscore for the American people what’s at stake here.
But our senators are saying nothing about that. Nor are they denouncing Trump’s attacks on the special counsel that continue to drive Mueller’s poll numbers dangerously downward. Republicans and Democrats now see his work in starkly different terms, even though this is a time when country clearly should outrank party.
More than 500 former Justice Department officials who have worked in both Republican and Democratic administrations have signed a petition urging Congress to act “swiftly and forcefully” if Trump fires Mueller.
This is a chance to be on the right side of history. Our senators should seize it.
This story was originally published April 18, 2018 at 7:00 AM with the headline "Will Missouri and Kansas senators protect Robert Mueller from President Trump?."