A Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee said Friday that it is important that special counsel Robert Mueller can complete his investigation into potential ties between Russia and President Trump’s 2016 campaign without any interference from the White House.
Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland said he was disappointed that Congress has not passed legislation to protect Mr. Mueller from getting fired by Mr. Trump, but said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican, has assured lawmakers that will not happen.
“Leader McConnell told us he wants to protect Mr. Muller,” Mr. Cardin said on CNN’s “New Day. “So I suspect Congress and the American people will not allow the president to take those actions without consequences.”
Mr. McConnell said this week that he would not hold a vote on a bill that aimed to shield Mr. Mueller from getting canned. He said it was unnecessary, while other opponents said the proposal was unconstitutional.
The push to protect Mr. Mueller picked up speed last week after the FBI raided the hotel room, home and office of Michael Cohen, Mr. Trump’s personal attorney. The raid drew the ire of Mr. Trump, who called it “a disgrace” and who left open the the possibility of firing Mr. Mueller.
“We’ll see what may happen,” Mr Trump said at the time. “Many people have said you should fire him.”
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.