Sen. Cory Booker said Friday that even a report of firing special counsel Robert Mueller creates problems for President Trump and the country as a whole.
“It’s a big deal because that effort or that thought about doing it would really plunge our country into a constitutional crisis,” Mr. Booker, New Jersey Democrat, said on CBS News.
The New York Times and The Washington Post reported late Thursday that Mr. Trump tried to fire Mr. Mueller last year but was stopped by White House counsel Don McGahn. Mr. McGahn said he would resign if the president fired Mr. Mueller, according to the reports.
“To fire the special prosecutor, especially after the fact pattern we’re seeing about the firing of the FBI director, really presents a problem for our nation as a whole to have an accountable president undermining — actively undermining — an ongoing investigation into his administration and his campaign, where a number of close allies and associates have already faced indictment,” Mr. Booker explained.
The president did fire former FBI Director James B. Comey last summer, but he said it was due to his handling of the investigation into former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s improper use of State Department emails on a private server, unrelated to the investigation into his campaign.
The White House has continued to deny Mr. Trump has ever considered firing the special counsel. The president called the report “fake news” while in Davos, Switzerland, at the World Economic Forum on Friday.
• Sally Persons can be reached at spersons@washingtontimes.com.
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