When Mueller and Rosenstein handed off evidence of some type of criminal wrong doing by trump's attorney (ostensibly because it was outside of their primary focus), they effectively engineered a backstop to any attempt by trump, to stop the investigation. It's brilliant actually.
There are ways trump can get rid of Mueller, Rosenstein and Sessions, but the cat is out of the bag. He has no tool by which he can hobble their investigation. And what they now have access to is in fact the mother lode when it comes to every dirty deed trump's been involved in for decades. This is why he's in such a panic.
His pardon power is also in question as if I understand correctly, it is applicable only to federal charges. One way or another, it's all going to come out.
And when it does, the real crisis begins. Fox and talk radio have amped up the rhetoric to their already angry audience, to the extent that they wouldn't hesitate to incite violence should trump, his organization, family etc., be exposed and charged with crimes.
He didn't see this one coming. We can only hope that his luck has finally run out and that for the first time, in his life, he will be held to account for any crimes he's committed. And I dare say, it's likely he's guilty of one or two.
2
I would not be surprised if the Russians have a national holiday in Mueller's name. He was supposed to investigate to see if Trump colluded with Putin. He has had months to conclude that job. He hasn't found one iota of evidence of collusion. If he had, his job would be done. It should have been done if he didn't. So he goes after business dealings and people who have absolutely no connection. He charged two for lying and at least one lied about something that wasn't against the law. He raided one person’s house early in the morning and came away with photos of his suites hanging in the closet. He used a memo of unsubstantiated and fabricated claims paid for by Clinton and the DNC to get a warrant to search without telling the person authorizing the warrant who paid for it. He raided Trumps lawyer's office and home to take files that should be protected. Now this super lawman is headed to the National Enquirer. In any line at any grocery store he could have picked up one. He also delving into Access Hollywood which is available by pushing the on button of his TV. Mueller and Comey have a history. It took them ten years to conclude the anthrax attack investigation. It ended with a greater than $5 million payment to a falsely accused. A good New York detective would have concluded the evidence in ten days. Reports are, he plans to keep this on until election month this year. Someone should demand he either put up or shut down.
To Trump, "our nation", "this country", "our government", and he - are synonymous.
Trump actually believes that his best interests are the best interests of the US, and any attack on him personally, is an attack on the US.
He could never grasp the idea that something he did was harmful to "us", because he believes he is "us". He firmly believes that he is above the law, that anyone who would question him is not against the country - but him - because he believes they are one and the same, that anyone who would provide probable cause as the basis of a lawfully executed search warrant is a traitor to him - synonymous with being a traitor to the country.
In his private business, as a real estate developer, casino owner, and reality show host, he had reason to believe this. He was "the boss". He had employees. He controlled the company - what it did, how and when. He took the risk.
But now we all take the risk. Economically, politically and militarily. He does not have the ultimate say - we do. This is not his business, it's ours. He works for us.
I still wake up every morning, thinking that this cannot be - that Donald Trump followed Barack Obama as President of the United States - that we have devolved that much
1
There could be no greater contrast than that between Trump and Mueller. One a war hero, a patriot, a man of integrity and principle, the other a fraudulent travesty, a carnival barker, a painted facsimile of a man and a would-be dictator. Unable to discern the difference between them, millions of Americans have unwittingly signed the death warrant of this democracy.
"Trump himself is probably protected from indictment under Justice Department guidelines" ... doesn't this indicate the Justice Dept thinks the President is ABOVE THE LAW? That is what it looks like to me. Gee ... he could strangle Jeff Sessions in front of the cabinet and he would get off scott free.
2
For Republicans, it is all worth it - the collusion with Russia, the incoherent policies, the trashing of law and tradition, and the embarrassingly blatant grift. They got Neil Gorsuch and are inching ever closer to controlling women's bodies. That's all that matters to them. That and the tax cuts.
1
The Nation Will Pay? How much more?
2
Since when have people in America been equal before the law? Isn't it rather that the more money you have to pay lawyers, the more likely you are to receive "justice" despite whether you are guilty or innocent? My post is also "about America"
More silliness from the silly crowd. The "progressives" have been hoping Trump would fire Muller for the last year.
Trump is not going to fire Muller. He has said it many times.This is another hysterical side of the left wishing something would happen. The left media brought this up and it is going no where find another bone to chew on.
Why would anyone try to give the impression that the investigation will cease if Mueller were to be fired? The president may be a blowhard and an ego maniac and owns a few other non complimentary traits but I believe that it's dead wrong to think that he's stupid. The Trump detractors, which include most of the media are counting on Mueller being fired and will be extremely upset if he's not.
But..but...her emails!!!!!
Our founding fathers screwed up here!
Do we really have a system where the suspected traitor can effectively close investigations into themselves?
Trump has both exposed and bastardized all we dreaded and held holy respectively
We will never be the same again
The ultimate guarantor of the American republic is "we the people", or more precisely the electorate. Those should be the same thing, but they are not, and the divergence is growing. Of those who do vote, a significant segment has been encouraged and emboldened by a series of enablers like Goldwater and Reagan to believe that willful ignorance and ad hominem loathing are legitimate points of view.
I would suggest that what may seem unthinkable today could well become reality tomorrow, and we should start thinking about an emergency plan. Before I offer my radical proposal, consider my biases:
I loathed George W Bush's disjointed decisionmaking and contemptuous smirk, and I was glad to see him go. But I also found much to dislike in Obama's early embrace of the National Security State, from his "thumping defense of American militarism" in Oslo (Katty Kay, BBC) to his unprecedented use of the Espionage Act against NSA whistle blowers.
And yet, I think representatives of the two former presidents, if they are not doing so already, should now be reaching out to one another quietly to discuss a transitional National Unity government if Trump succeeds in collapsing the very frame of reference that has allowed the republic to survive so far, all constitutional safeguards fail because a Republican-led Congress folds, and social order breaks down. Like-minded patriots and staff with shared values aligned behind a W Bush/Obama collaboration might - just might - hold things together.
2
Of course Kristof is right. We are already paying for Trump's election, in so many ways.
I greatly fear outrage fatigue. There have been so many vile and outlandish moments in this administration that Trump makes Nixon look like a schoolboy. Every time anyone says or even thinks that things can't get worse, the president ups the ante. And we are internationally humiliated in the process of terrifying the world.
I sincerely hope that when things come to a head there is enough moral outrage left to rise against this bizarrely frightening administration.
7
I remember when liberals cared about these things.
1
If Trump in ANY way -- directly or indirectly -- tries to stop, derail, de-fang, weaken, neuter or destroy Mueller and the investigation, it will be seen for exactly what it is: the desperate act of a guilty man resorting to a last ditch effort to save his own skin. Worse, it will unleash an outraged public and 'nastiness' will spread throughout the land.
8
There is no guarantee that criminals could not fool enough people to become very powerful in this or any other country.
It has happened as we see.
Our free press let's us gather information so we can make decisions about such people.
So we can gather the truth.
The truth about Trump is wacking us right in the face. Even Fox reports it.
We just have to believe our eyes and ears.
No innocent person acts like him.
"Heck, I have nothing to hide! Investigate away Mr. Mueller! Wanna talk next week?"
That's what I'd say.
That's what you'd say.
Cause we are innocent.
He's not.
And, no normal person you know would start and promote (the YouTubes were hysterical - but they've been taken down) a PHONY UNIVERSITY! Designed to rip off average Americans.
Trump University - search it.
Would you take your car to a mechanic who you know ripped off unsuspecting people by conducting classes in a "Car Repair University" that was a pure scam to take people's money?
You would??
That's sick.
I wouldn't.
Cause that mechanic, like Trump, is a criminal.
4
I fervently hope that late Friday afternoon Trump ends this disgraceful farce. The Democrats and their non-stop cries of Russian collusion has done our country a favor- now we know that there IS a Deep State with the FBI being the leading edge.
Sessions, Rosenstein, Mueller must go along with a slew of others- immediate firing. Pardons should be issued for Don Jr, Jarad, Flynn, and whoever else Mueller was trying to set up.
Riots in the street on Saturday, you say? Not gonna happen. The country will heave a sigh of relief and focus attention on what really matters and why Trump won the election.
2
You are doing what we call in Texas "whistling past the graveyard."
1
No riots, but protests are already organized just in case.
1
First, who could not see this coming, even as far back as the Republican primaries? A modicum of intelligence should have signaled to a prospective voter "This guy is bad news, he lies about everything, is likely a sociopath or worse, and disrespects his wife, his political opponents, and pretty much everyone who doesn't bow down to him." And yet many voted for him. I wonder how many regret doing so? If Trump ultimately fires those seeking to hold him responsible for the many crimes he appears to be implicated in, our country's saving grace may yet lie in it's justice system. A long dragged out legal appeal may allow Mr Mueller the time he needs to resolve the case of the man who trumped himself. If there is to be any justice at all, it may once again rest in the hands of the Supreme Court. They might even get it right (small r) this time.
45
Frankly, when is the mainstream media in America going to FINALLY come to grips with the fact and admit that with the advent of "Citizens United", bribery and the ensuing corruption of American politics and in many ways, it way of life, is now legal? When voters elect politicians that can change the rules to serve their interests, Trump and the Republican Party are the result of that decision by American voters, bottom line, no other excuse. If you want to change America and get rid of this corruption, elect those that are unencumbered by special interests, there is no other way.
2
Where was all of this outrage when Hillary was essentially dead to rights with charges but was let off? I do not recall Democrats complaining about Loretta Lynch's exposed tarmac meeting with Hillary's husband, who was also under investigation. No recusal? No constitutional crises? What about Obama speaking on the investigation while it was still going on? Sorry Libs, this selective outrage being displayed is absolutely absurd. Let's be clear on what Trump will be charged with, collusion? I'm sorry is that even a crime? Would Putin rather have Trump or Hillary in office right now? Many are so caught up with hating Trump, they show an utter failure with recognizing his policies that go against Russia. To say the least, Putin misses Obama. Now he doesn't have a weak idealist to push around anymore.
2
Trump and the Republicans Will Pay if He Fires Mueller, signed, the Voting Citizens of the United States who Care About the Constitution and the Rule of Law.
2
I wanted Bernie, but voted HRC. So maybe I live in a bubble. Maybe you do, too.
Have you ever watched a few episodes of "Gangland"? I suggest that you do so. It's stunning. But their existence just is not on the radar of many middle-class white people. Ignorance may indeed be bliss, but it probably isn't wise:
"The FBI website in 2014 stated that there were some 33,000 gangs in the United States classified as street gangs, motorcycle gangs, or prison gangs."
You and your community want no part of these violent career criminals. No doubt 45 appeals to people who are painfully aware of our mean streets. Mostly, I choose to overlook this frightening situation and focus on Medicare For All. Out of sight, out of mind.
1
Trump must go; the method yet to be settled on. He is simply too mired with legal havoc to pay attention to his job. We need someone instead who can give the job his (or her) full attention and not even dare to contemplate shenanigans, as is unfortunately true for many of his administration.
3
To many of us, Mr. Mueller is a type of Captain America -- a Princeton grad who served as a Marine in Vietnam and was awarded a Bronze Star, J.D. from Univ. of Virginia, prosecutor, attorney and later appointed to lead the FBI a week before 9/11 when the agency changed directions to deal with international terrorism. He is the war hero who fought for justice against criminals and terrorists, turning down far more lucrative private practice opportunities to serve his country time and again. Captain America was the supersoldier who fought the Axis powers.
Trump's mentor and lawyer, the infamous Roy Cohn, also represented Rupert Murdoch, helped Roger Stone, and was charged multiple times with witness tampering, perjury, and professional misconduct. Trump has never left this ugly background of unethical behavior and abuse of the law behind.
If Trump fires Mr. Mueller, not only is it an obstruction of justice, it is the revenge of the bone spur draft dodger, the corrupt corporate mogul, the fake tough guy against the real thing.
54
Trump will not fire Mueller.
Mueller, by offloading the Cohen investigation to the SDNY has created the ultimate poison pill and in no uncertain terms communicated to Trump what is coming if he tries it.
Since they would be essentially firewalled outside of the Mueller investigation, any criminal findings could certainly be used against Trump after he leaves office, when Trump would have no "pardon" power to pardon himself. He would try to do that as certainly as the sun coming up tomorrow if criminal charges were to be filed against him as a sitting president.
Mueller has checkmated Trump in terms of at least insuring that the investigation goes forward to it's conclusion, wherever and whenever that is.
3
"Republicans and Democrats alike are pleading with Trump, begging, for the good of the country: Don’t go there. This is larger than Trump. It is a struggle for the idea of equality before the law." Doing something for the good of the country would normally be a strong argument, however Washington politicians are dealing with President Trump, and I doubt he believes that any interest is greater than his own self image.
3
Trump's only crime was winning the election against Hillary Clinton. That's why they sent Deep State Mueller after him.
3
@weakcheeks: Who's "they"? Rod Rosenstein?
2
If Mueller is Deep State, thank the lord for the Deep State!
4
Take that tinfoil off your head.
2
We are to blame for making Trump president.
The United States we knew no longer exists.
2
Yes, but will he pay if something is found during the investigation ?
2
This, like so many other Trump embarrassments, may not rally the Republicans in the halls of Congress to finally stand up to this charlatan; but it may very well rally the outraged spectators of this farce of a presidency to stand up in the streets.
4
I think he could actually get away with it.
One lesson, I think we've learned by now, is that Trump is above the law.
He was able to have the FBI director "send a letter" to Congress, to help sway the election, at the very same time he was able to keep his affairs with porn stars quiet, even when the media apparently knew they existed, he was, it seems, able to work with Russians right under the noses of the nation's intelligence organizations, with all their resources and capabilities.
And, now there's apparently an investigation. It's hard to understand how intelligence organizations didn't see what was going on. And then, the FBI director, whom he later fires, claims his stomach "turns" to know he may have influenced the election.
And when the letter was sent, the media jumped on it! He received essentially free wall to wall coverage.
Mr. Trump clearly has good reason to believe he can get away with a lot.
Time will tell if he's really right or wrong, but at this point, when one looks at the sum of what he seems to have gotten away with, or the favorable treatment he's received from the nation's institutions, say, the news media, or "help" such as the "letter" from Comey, or the quieting of affairs etc, it seems like there's something "cooking" at the highest most powerful offices of the land to protect him.
He seems to know what he's dealing with, and he seems to have been right every step of the way, so far at least.
2
Trump will fire Rosenstein, then Mueller. Anything to save Trump. Then what will happen to correct this? *We need urgent answers to this question.* Will the House vote to impeach? Will the Senate vote to convict by the needed 2/3rds vote? I highly doubt it before the Nov. elections. Even with an after-election Democratic House, the GOP Senate (most likely) will not vote to convict. Massive protests in the streets? One-day marches will be ineffective. Condenmnation from media and politicians? Just words. Somehow we need to urgently find a way to *prevent* Trump from firing them. NOW!
4
If Trump fires Rosenstein and or Mueller it will be a final and irrevocable proof of obstruction of justice. Congress will have to impeach or resign.
6
Trump would be crazy to fire the Social Register boy. Mueller is a member of the establishment. It was no mistake Bush called on him. Cheney, not part of the old world establishment, but likes to think he is, had real problems with Mueller. Mueller and the establishment would love to see Trump disappear, but a lot of very important people are making oodles and oodles of money (NYT included) with Trump. Trump will go when the economy starts to slip. Then they'll kick down the street like a junkyard dog. You went to Harvard Kristoff, you know all this, but you got drop some ink to get paid.
1
Someone remind Trump that children are suffering chemical deaths in Syria. He signed up to be leader of the free world.
1
Trump can fire Mueller with perfect impunity. The days of Nixon are long gone. You see, the Republican Party has it set up so that “the government” is the evil enemy, and they are the brave crusaders who want to destroy government. Trump is the Parsifal in this scenario, leading the forces of freedom against the infidels of big government. If he fires Mueller, he will be hailed as a hero, by nearly half the country.
The Mueller investigation is much ado about nothing. Of course the Russians interfered with the election. Of course Trump knew about it. So what. We interfere with their elections and the elections of every state on the planet. The real problems are big oil, climate change, income inequality, war with North Korea, and jobs. If Trump is out, our current Vice President will be even worse on those issues than Trump is.
1
His base is still only 35% and that is NOT "nearly half."
The investigation is really about so much more than Russia's involvement in our elections. Or hadn't you noticed?
First, Paul Manafort is not waiting for a pardon, he's waiting for a prisoner exchange with the Russian Federation. A stint in a Federal prison is a lot safer than spilling the beans on Putin and inhaling a neurotoxin.
Second, Trump can be restrained, but not managed. Let a coiled snake out of it's cage and it will strike.
Third, the only legal way to deal with this is impeachment, the courts, and jail time. Maybe Paul Ryan will take a leaf from Bob Corker and Jeff Flake and grow a spine. Unlikely.
The people have the ultimate responsibility by taking to the streets, non-violently as Dr. King so taught us, and bringing America to a standstill. Unrelenting pressure.
We'll then see if Republicans will hew to the rule of law and the will of the people, or the final conversion of America to a fascist police state will begin.
80
Bingo on Manafort (!)--have been waiting quite a while for someone to point out that for Manafort prison in the US is a walk in the park compared to a Russian assassin.
3
Of course there are many Trump supporters who vehemently disagree with this column's point of view and will defend Trump to their dying breath. They would also classify themselves as 'victims', as Trump himself does. That they get the majority of their news from his tweets, or Fox 'News', or Rush, or Alex Jones might explain part of their intransigence, but there is more: they are unable or unwilling to process information with even a shred of discrimination or objectivity. This appears to be a problem not just of this nation but also in many others as well, as the nations of the Earth lurch toward a brave new world devoid of humanity, fellow-feeling, and compassion. The greatest American of the past 100 years, Martin Luther King, warned this country of the slippery slope of racism, militarism, and structural poverty during the '60's, but also gave us the antidote to revolutionize our values through compassion, brotherhood/sisterhood, and cooperation between aggrieved parties.
2
Nicholas: You wrote: "It is a struggle for the idea of equality before the law."
WHERE were all you folks when Ms. Clinton was breaking the law left and right. Server in her house, lying about Benghazi, inviting Russia into the Middle East as a re-set, the Clinton Foundation was a transparent way of "pay to play" with one $15,000,000 donation from the ME potentate. Or, her co-opting of the DNC and its failure to maintain a level playing field. NOBODY in your circles said a thing.
You folks failed and failed miserably. So did the DOJ and the FBI. THERE WAS NO, REPEAT, NO EQUALITY BEFORE THE LAW. All those were just swept over like nothing had happened.
Now, I am NOT a Trump supporter. He's a dangerous man. But you people have completely lost your credibility and integrity.
And, yes, the nation will pay if Trump attempts to fire Mueller. The Saturday Night Massacre shows that only Sessions can do that. But it will pay in a way none of you are expecting. Be warned. The ultimate goal of bringing Trump down will fracture the nation like we have not seen since the Civil War.
1
Spot on.
How long does it take to write legislation to protect Mueller?
It’s written but won’t be able to get votes to pass because Republicans believe Trump lies.
I hope that Mueller brings this to as quick a conclusion as legally possible and really MAGA
This is going to get far worse before it gets better.
Like Christof, I expect Trump will try to cut off the Mueller investigation, though--now with Alan Dershowitz' support--he will likely do it by first firing Rosenstein and then installing a shill to direct Mueller to stop work and forego a report. Either way, though, our president--the President of the United States of America--will be flying in the face of the rule of law, the very foundation of our republic.
But while those of us who read the Times are wringing our hands, Fox News' Sean Hannity is doing a show on "The Mueller Crime Family"--which Trump himself advertised on Twitter. And InfoWars' Jerome Corsi is advertising his new book--Killing the Deep State: The Fight to Save President Trump--on national television. In this latest conspiracy-theory-laden effort (his previous books include "Where's the Birth Certificate?"), Corsi posits a shadow government plotting to "take down" President Trump against the "will of the people" and the necessity of removing the special counsel and dismantling "corrupt" agencies like the FBI and the CIA to save Trump from a coup d'etat.
What is terrifying is that the book is a #1 Best Seller on Amazon, with hundreds of five-star reviews, many calling for "patriots" to "fight to save our Republic." And Fox, the most watched news network, is daily blaring the same Deep State message. When the next shoe drops, Americans may be fighting each other in the streets.
1
The chief law enforcement official is a crook. Given the choice between saving the nation and destroying himself, or destroying the nation and saving himself, it is clear which path the crook will take.
1
We are already paying for Donald's incompetence! The United States of America has lost its standing in the world. Donald's reaction to Syria shows clearly how incompetent he is!
I cling to hope that Lindsay Graham is correct when he states, "If the president fires the Special Counsel it will be the beginning of the nd of his presidency!"
Sen. Graham, we are holding you to that! IF Donald fires Mueller or Rosenstein, millions will be in the streets! Last poll showed that 69% of Americans do not want Mueller fired!
Listen up, Republicans!
2
The nation has already paid heavily for Trump's highly questionable placing into the Oval Office.
By firing Mueller Donald Trump would bring millions to their feet with the same farcical belligerence and ferocity that he perfected as a Reality TV star. Never before has the United States seen a so-called president - Donald Trump - with absolutely no qualifications to lead our nation. We have never before had someone i the Oval Office who is so clearly a racist. We have never had such an open discussion about whether president was mentally disturbed. Never before have so many openly described a presidential as a fascist admirer of dictators.
However, in the face of their certain knowledge about Donald Trump's instability and complete lack of qualification to be President and Commander-in-Chief, the Republican leadership has supported Trump from Day One. They are knowingly back someone who has nothing but contempt for the Rule of Law and what our nation has fought and died for. Trump has made a laughing stock out of the American people before the world.
If Trump fires Mueller in a fit if rage..highly likely given his past behavior...he will do so with cheers from his fans and excuses mumbled by the Republican so-called leadership.
We are already paying dearly and the only payback for the American people can come at the polls. Get out the vote and throw out Trump and the Republicans ...or keep paying dearly for the loss of our national self-respect.
4
What exactly are we supposed to do if he goes postal and recklessly fires Mueller? March in our cites? He will go to Florida and play golf, like he did when the high school students marched. Email our Congressional Representatives? They are cowards, at least the Republicans and Democrats from Red states. So what, exactly are we supposed to do?
Please fire the guy - we’ve gone from investigating Russian spies to whether a rich guy had consensual sex with a poem star.
Does anyone have any remaining doubt this is a slow motion coup to overturn the legally conducted 2016 election ?
If you look up “Witch Hunt” in Webster’s it’ll display Mueller’s face.
2
Sadly, his base will continue to double and triple down on him as they would rather see their own lives and nation ruined than admit they made a horrible mistake in helping elect s soulless, evil grifter into the highest office. Trump Country will be the first to burn.
1
On reflection, Americans must realize that this goes to the soul, the very idea of what the country is about. It's like "The Stand".
Forget the noise about the economy (Mussolini made the trains run on time) and reflect on whether justice must be served.
1
If Trump were smart, he'd shut up and maybe even cooperate with Mueller. Anything else is likely to get him deeper into trouble. That's okay with me.
Meanwhile, I'd dearly love to have my country back, the one where folks don't think that white supremacists and neo-Nazis "have good folks" in their groups, the one where we don't insult people based on the color of their skin or their religion, the one where it's not okay to shoot people for almost any reason at all and above all, the one that other nations trust to be sane, rational and calm in dealing with world events.
Typical of NY Times opinion columnists. Make a mountain out of a molehill as though it is the best thing since the slice of bread. Mueller investigation started off as necessary to understand whether there was a collaboration of the Trump 2016 presidential campaign and Russia. It has become an open ended witch hunt that has nothing to do with Hillary Clinton winning the popular vote and Trump winning the electoral college. The nation has already payed a heavy price for Mueller and his partisan mafia to go on and on like the Eveready bunny to go tangentially in all directions to the precise boundaries laid down by the justice dept. Trump will be fully justified in firing Mueller but I don't think he should. Why? Because there was no collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian govt., at least until now there is no credible evidence for that. I have not seen any polls about what the nation will think if Mueller is fired but I would predict that the nation most likely would like him not to be fired but instead Mueller should be held accountable for the lack of a timely conclusion of his investigation and his submission of the final report. The tax payers have a deadline of April 17, 2018 to file their tax returns. I think the nation should impose the same deadline for Mueller to file a report of his year long investigation or quit the can of worms he has opened. Half the nation voted for Trump knowing all it needed to know about the life of Trump as a private citizen.
3
Sometimes I can see the usefulness of a monarchy. The Queen can dissolve parliament and call for new elections.
1
The one certain way for Spanky to insure that the republicans get a sound and thorough thrashing in November, losing both the House and Senate, is to attempt to fire Mr. Mueller.
The nation will MARCH if Trump fires Mueller.
“Our legal system may in practice sometimes be as ugly as any sausage factory, but it is inspired by a principle as noble and lofty and simple as any: equality before the law.”
Wait...what? At what point have we seen lofty principles by ANY Republicans in congress, state legislatures, in cabinet positions, judges etc?
Trump hasn’t “drained the swamp” he has put in the worst swamp creatures imaginable. Seems they are ALL buying high end custom made furniture for their temporary civil servant offices. Chartered planes, 18 man security details (“A guy yelled at me at an airport!” whine)
“Turn the lights and sirens on to get to that restaurant faster!”
Some may feel sorry for the Secretary of State Rex Tillerson but he DID strip funding and failed to fill 3/4ths of the state positions including ambassadors.
HR McMaster left his active duty position as a 3 star US Army general to work at the NSA. Now instead of getting his 4th star he slinks into ignoble retirement.
4 star Marine General John Kelly has become a nothing...an attempted babysitter for this wacko toddler. And Jim “Chaos” Mattis in a position designed for a CIVILIAN, Sec’y of Defense has become practically useless. This position REQUIRES a civilian for balance.
And I STILL don’t see how firing Mueller will change ANYTHING. There isn’t one Republican that will do a thing and the Dems have become equally spineless.
I got my absentee primary ballot today in this red state. Not ONE Democrat. I have no hope.
1
Trump wants the investigation shut down because he can't believe that he is being treated like any other person. He thinks he's above the law and can't be touched. He's outraged that anyone would presume to even think of investigating him. His arrogance knows no bounds. His ego is a roaring monster. He's like a child brought up in a world of "yes" who finally hears "no." He cannot comprehend how this can be happening and is determined to end it at any cost. He is obsessed with himself, and everything else, including his oath to faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and preserve, protect and defend the Constitution takes a backseat to his needs, his wants. He is a dangerous man.
1
Trump doesn't see anything larger than Trump.
Nor, apparently, do a considerable body of Americans, who seem to prefer a divider rather than a unifier in the White House.
No matter how corrupt and immoral he may be.
Mr. Kristof would be well advised to understand he is inciting a Mob to act on Trump. And America does not tolerate Mob Rule for very long.......If Mr. Kristof behavior doesnt change soon and his type of illogical, irrational, inflamatory provocations actually topple a government.....I hope down the road in the future, his own grandchildren do not spit on his grave for his role in destroying America.
Trump is going to go down in a much bigger ball of fire than this. If (when) he goes down, that ball of fire will be YUGE! This baloney is nothing by comparison.
Hey, America? Next time just vote for the annoying experienced bureaucrat. OK?
1
“He claims persecution, but it’s just embarrassing for a billionaire who is the most powerful person in the world to exhibit a victim complex.”—> this does not get said enough.
It’s like a comedy act but you cringe when you watch.
1
If......possibly.......it's possible......it could be......clouded by.....
Wonder why so many people have little respect for the news media?
Because so many newspeople don't follow the rules of gathering evidence and looking at the evidence before coming to a conclusion.
One of Sherlock Holmes’ axioms goes something like this: ‘It is a big mistake to theorize before one has data – because one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts.’
Have FBI agents theorized before they have data? Have Federal attorneys joined into the fray?
How are we to respect the law when the people who are charged with enforcing the law do not themselves respect the law?
How are we to trust the news media when with so many writers and speakers the bias is clear?
2
He has lit the fires that are consuming him. I say, let him burn.
2
Anything can happen - this most incompetent person may not even be sane at this point. Since his extreme narcissism makes everything about him, tearing the country apart will mean nothing to him as long as he gets the credit for the mayhem.
Rounding all the articles up, Trump could fire Sessions, Rosenstein, and Mueller! Are you kidding me? This is not ALL RIGHT! Shouldn't even be a matter of conjecture. He might as well just disband the entire Justice Dept. Stop this nonsense now.
"Well, Ollie, what a fine mess you've got us into this time!" (Remember Laurel and Hardy?) At some level I believe Trump revels in all this attention. Has anyone calculated the number of hours the media has been watching Trump and talking about Trump for this last year? Pathetically (the root word being "pathos") our Machiavellian Frankenstein monster likely enjoys this chaos. But, let us not forget: Chaos is the roof of all evil. And, Donald J. Trump is evil to his core. He is a spineless carnival barker who plays America's marionette while Putin plays Trump's marionette. My concern is less about the damage already done to our Republic; more about how much damage will be done before this is finalized. We have lost face before the world. Lady Liberty stands aghast. And Congress is an ineffectual body of eunuchs.
The nation has already paid heavily for Trump's highly questionable placing into the Oval Office. By firing Mueller Donald Trump would bring millions to their feet with the same farcical belligerence and ferocity that he perfected as a Reality TV star.
Never before has the United States seen a so-called president - Donald Trump - with absolutely no qualifications to lead our nation. We have never before had someone i the Oval Office who is so clearly a racist. We have never had such an open discussion about whether president was mentally disturbed. Never before have so many openly described a presidential as a fascist admirer of dictators.
However, in the face of their certain knowledge about Donald Trump's instability and complete lack of qualification to be President and Commander-in-Chief, the Republican leadership has supported Trump from Day One. They are knowingly back someone who has nothing but contempt for the Rule of Law and what our nation has fought and died for. Trump has made a laughing stock out of the American people before the world. If Trump fires Mueller in a fit if rage..highly likely given his past behavior...he will do so with cheers from his fans and excuses mumbled by the Republican so-called leadership.
We are already paying dearly and the only payback for the American people can come at the polls. Get out the vote and throw out Trump and the Republicans ...or keep paying dearly for the loss of our national self-respect.
1
So, what's up with your moderating process? My comments are civil a can be, but they regularly get lost in the sink hole somewhere. I am a paying subscriber, of course.
Donald : You're FIRED. Resign, or take the entire GOP down with you.
Seriously.
1
If I want to scroll through the reader’s comments I need to look at the Anti-Christ all the time. Please, NYT, we do know how the POTUS looks. No need to give me us the mug shot on every article.
Republicans have accepted Trump's unhinged and incoherent attacks on DOJ and FBi as useful lies of convenience.
When Trump inevitably fires Mueller and hands out a few pardons, there will be some hand wringing and mild desk pounding, but the notion that there will be enough Senate Republican votes to remove Trump from office is laughable.
And then we can move on the next constitutional crisis:
What happens when the fully unhinged, unrestrained, and unpunished Trump blames a Democratic wave victory in 2018 and 2020 on massive voter fraud? What actions will he take? Will the Republican party decide that is a step too far? Fox? Sinclair? The Trump base?
44
I've imagined just such a scenario as you describe for the upcoming election and actually I am expecting it- which frightens the wits out of me.
7
@LT: If Trump fires Mueller, and Trump is NOT removed from office, what makes you think there would be a fair election in November?
6
IF Trump fires Mueller (directly or indirectly) he (Trump) may as well drink Draino and be done with it.
1
Mr. Kristof assumes that the firing of Mueller would end the Trump investigation. That is almost certainly wrong. When Trump fired Comey, he replaced him with Wray. In past instances where special counsel have been fired, the investigation has gone on.
Mueller leads a large staff of prosecutors and investigators. When the head of such an office is removed, an assistant has always been named as the temporary head. Moreover, Rosenstein would be authorized to appoint a permanent replacement for Mueller.
It is probably impossible, under the circumstances, for Trump to shut the investigation down without firing a boatload of officials. Nobody has done anything like that. Of course, Trump could do anything at all, but mass firings would be terribly controversial.
There are countless experienced prosecutors for Rosenstein to choose from if Trump removes Mueller. Trump's message, to date, has been that Mueller has taken matters too far. That is not a justification for closing down the whole investigation. It is a justification for replacing Mueller.
Mr. Kristof's suggestion that Trump would close the investigation is contrary to what he did with Comey and contrary to what has ever happened before. I suspect his view of the matter is exaggerated and inaccurate.
As I follow this in print and tv, I am struck by the uncertain opinions around legal interpretation.
It appears just as likely as not that an American president is, in fact, above the law.
1
On an international level the last exceptional thing our nation did was saving the world from the Nazis. On a national, abolishing slavery, although that such horror was ever even legal dampens even that point. Exceptional, we are not. Complicated, yes.
I was listening to the Anti-Christ, yesterday. Sometimes referred to by his mortal name, Rush Limbaugh. He suggested DJT should start pardoning people that Mueller has charged. Maybe DJT should pardon himself, just for good measure. Let Mueller stay a little longer.
.
Rosenstein said he would deliver the subpoenaed documents to the House. Impeaching Rosenstein should be the next step if he doesn't fully comply.
.
What is Kim Jun Un up to?
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And, depending on what the FBI/IG report says, charge Comey, appropriately.
.
We should also start asking Strock and Paige to better explain themselves. Maybe ask about the Hillary email server investigation and their "insurance policy". Sure, Mueller took them off the Special counsel staff when he found out about their texting habits. Or, did he take them off the case when he thought their activity was about to go public? And, they both still have a job. Why?
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The FBI and the DOJ need a thorough cleaning. If DJT fires Mueller, red state voters would only be mad that it took so long.
What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger. Who’s with me? Maybe not Paul Ryan, the wimp, and I bet there are some of you who will press on through this mess. Never give up. Lock him up.
Trump and his corrupt cohorts are still at bat trying to hit a grand slam against democracy. If he succeeds in firing Mueller there will be no end to his arrogant rants and misuse of presidential power. This will not end well.
3
There is no "nation". There is only trump, those willing to submit to his rule, and those of us who are willing to leave the carcass of america to rot and start new.
#calexit
1
We have no Kings in this country. The last one we had was Hanoverian . . .We are a nation of laws, not men. We believe in due process. Ruling by fiat is not in our nature. In ROD we trust.
1
LOL "citizens equal before the law".
Except if your name is Hillary Clinton.
1
Clinton was investigated.
3
Shakespeare didn't know Trump, but he knew his type, for he wrote in Measure for Measure:
Man, proud man,
Dress'd in a little brief authority,
Most ignorant of what he's most assur'd—
His glassy essence—like an angry ape
Plays such fantastic tricks before high heaven
As makes the angels weep."
2
The nation will pay MORE.
We have already paid an enormous price for having this unstable, dangerous, ignorant, and uncurious, impulsive, self-centered, egomaniacal fool in office thus far.
I can only hope the nation can recover.
I'm amazed these loons are so careless with the country's Rule of Law.
For most USA citizens the law is to be respected and FEARED.
If the President can presumably commit crimes with impunity and essentially fire the police, why shouldn’t I get to do the same? Why shouldn’t you?
Trump, the mob boss, finally has his own mob to run. It's us folks, America.
"Any attempt to block the investigation would discredit not only Trump but also our country."
that happened when reality television star and racist buffoon donald trump was elected in 2016. if he fires mueller rosenstein et al there better be massive unrest in this country. put down your phones and pick up a pitchfork. we're marching to washington (or the golf course at MAL)!
This land is your land, this land is my land....all equal under the law.
1
Day that Special Prosecutor Ken Starr announced to James CARVILLE that "We're gonna roll your boy"in a way that suggested braggadocio, a certainty that he and his team of attorneys would find something on Clinton, and this was before investigation had even started, was the day I began to mistrust Starr and the notion of appointing such a personage to investigate the President, any president at all. It is all politically motivated. We have so many other priorities that should come before. Mueller, on his own ego trip, unable to give up the limelight, should do the honorable thing in his crepuscular years as an attorney and devote remainder of his career to eliminating mandatory sentencing in federal cases so that poor souls would not spend decades under 3 strikes and your'e out over the theft of a bag of donuts or a $150 coat, legacy from the Rockefeller and Reagan years, or seeing that that money, hundreds of millions, went to upgrade dangerous,sub standard housing so folks would not die in firetraps as in that tragic conflagration in the Bronx. That should be Mueller's mission now in life, not trying to delegitimize a c-in-c duly elected! For shame!
1
Our so-called leaders are vastly under-estimating the extent to which the public is watching from every corner of every community in the country. It isn't just Democrats or Independents. It includes Republicans. It isn't just traditional Republicans. It is also Trump supporters. Trump actions leading to disruption of Mueller's investigation will ignite this country like nothing it has ever seen before. We would be watching the president of the United States tell every US resident that he does not care about law and order as it pertains to himself. This man who wants to electrocute drug dealers does not want to be held to the same laws and standards as everyone else. That is the conduct of a wanna-be dictator who believes can commit any illegal act he wants without consequence. Well we waited too long to stop Hitler. We learned out lesson. It won't happen here. And the public will make sure of that. We can't rely on our representatives so we will take to the streets. The result will make the 1960's riots look like family picnics. This is a prediction, not a threat. But I've been correct about most everything so far.
Sad to see what passes for boilerplate these days.
@Mark Merrill: If you are referring to my comment as "boilerplate,"strange choice of words when people are rotting in federal prisons for non violent offenses, or dying in firetrap buildings in the Bronx because city leaders could not care less!Ever been up against it, when circumstances were beyond your control, or you were being penalized for being black or unable to hire a good defense?Spent time in stoney lonesome on 3 continents and saw up front what true poverty is like during stints in w. African countries where survival is a daily struggle and there is no work!We in the West are a spoiled lot. always complaining."Chauffeurs de taxi in Senegal average equivalent in c.f.a.of 10 dollars daily, and a "bonne a tout faire,"grosso modo equivalent of $30.00 monthly. We in the WEST take so much for granted!
After hearing about this I wonder why Muller was not disbarred and how he became director of the FBI!
Ripping FBI special counsel Robert Mueller as a political "zealot," Harvard law professor emeritus Alan Dershowitz reminded staunch Mueller supporters about the former FBI director's role in protecting "notorious mass murderer" Whitey Bulger as an FBI informant. "I think Mueller is a zealot," Dershowitz told "The Cats Roundtable" on 970 AM-N.Y. ". . . I don't think he cares whether he hurts Democrats or Republicans, but he's a partisan and zealot. "He's the guy who kept four innocent people in prison for many years in order to protect the cover of Whitey Bulger as an FBI informer. Those of us in Boston don't have such a high regard for Mueller because we remember this story. The government had to pay out tens of millions of dollars because Whitey Bulger, a notorious mass murderer, became a government informer against the mafia . . ."
1
This is a Muller fishing expedition and according to Mr. Alan Dershowitz, Muller has a record of lawless behavior.
Ripping FBI special counsel Robert Mueller as a political "zealot," Harvard law professor emeritus Alan Dershowitz reminded staunch Mueller supporters about the former FBI director's role in protecting "notorious mass murderer" Whitey Bulger as an FBI informant. "I think Mueller is a zealot," Dershowitz told "The Cats Roundtable" on 970 AM-N.Y. ". . . I don't think he cares whether he hurts Democrats or Republicans, but he's a partisan and zealot. "He's the guy who kept four innocent people in prison for many years in order to protect the cover of Whitey Bulger as an FBI informer. Those of us in Boston don't have such a high regard for Mueller because we remember this story. The government had to pay out tens of millions of dollars because Whitey Bulger, a notorious mass murderer, became a government informer against the mafia . . ."
After hearing about this I wonder why Muller was not disbarred and how he became director of the FBI!
2
43 million gun toting Trump voters would start an armed insurrection if Trump is threatened. And we in The Liberal States say, its about time the Confederacy seceded again -- this time for good! Good Riddance!
1
Who says we are not willing to meet this armed insurrection.
No, Mr. President. You cannot be a dictator!
1
Trump rants as Geiger counter, great analogy.
FBI (D) should raid NYT offices for collusion with Democrats. Muller, by his biased actions, just handed Trump his second term. Dems are lost in the woods. Rigged Press is not enough for them to win.
3
"Democrats are lost in the woods" translated from Guanoese: "I choose to vote against Democrats but endless wars, crashing the economy, pollution, hazardous working conditions and a lack of good-paying jobs is not my fault."
2
Sadly only Liberals believe America is anything but the banana Republic it is (at least the Trump voter is honest enough to want a piece of the action). Democrats are paid Washington Wizards...paid to offer a semblance of balance, lol.
America is a casino for the wealthy.
It's rather odd to elect a plutocratic fraud like Trump as a protest to supposed Democratic wrongdoings. These same sorts criticize Democrat Elizabeth Warren for attempting to reign in Wall Street.
In the spirit of bipartisan comity, Nick - an alternate headline...
"White Presidents Just Don't Get It"
...royalty-free
1
Seems Mueller and his team of righteousness have gotten a bit off track. No collusion yet, but lots of sex--looks like the perfect Hollywood script pre-Harvey Weinstein, that is.
1
If Trump attempts to fire Mueller there will be rioting in the streets. The reality Mr. Trump is dealing with is this: Too many Americans who believed in him and voted for him are coming to the painful awareness that they were conned, used and manipulated. They are coming to terms with the brutal reality that we now have a POTUS who has no interest in serving the American People... he only serves himself and his own gargantuan, insatiable ego. The gig is up Mr. Trump... It may get ugly but this nation will survive. If you want to have any hope of not moving your residence to a Federal Prison, I would advise you keep your head down, your mouth shut and your Twitter account inactive.
1
Not if, but when, Trump fires Mueller those rioters will be met with vigilante militias and Trump will look the other way. I'm with the Left always, but it's coming into focus: Trump's illegal activities are immense and only firing Mueller can stave off Trump's sentencing. You rightly point out that there will be protests. I simply remind you- and us all- that Trump supporters are irrational, heavily-armed, convinced that the system is rigged against Trump (and them) and "duty-bound" to "take back America."
Some on the right choose to think we snowflakes aren't patriots, but I would willingly spill my blood to preserve my country's honor.
Yes, Mr. Kristof, it is about the kind of nation we live in. This nation through it's electoral college elected this clown. Now we're living in the clowns circus
1
My concern is how stupid the Republicans are to believe Trump when he tells them he will not fire Mueller. He believes he has power over the law. He will do it in a fit of anger after FOX tells him he has to to protect "the country."
1
Russia scored its greatest victory over the United States since the Cold War. They didn't need long range bombers or ICBMs, just a bunch of free , fake FB accounts and KBG script writters cooking up slogans like Crooked Hillary and lock her up. The man who couldn't make money running casinos and had to run business scams is running our country.
94
While firing Mueller (or Rosenstein) might indeed be "immensely damaging to the entire country", Vichy Republicans don't care. They've already damaged our civil rights, environment, legal system, consumer and financial protections, tax infrastructure, the deficit and our schools. All that matters to them is that they serve their oligarchs, the oil & gas companies and the NRA, and that they have a lucrative lobbying business awaiting them when they "retire".
72
Trump is a huge flashing neon sign, complete with fireworks, balloons, and juggling clowns......all as a celebration of white collar crime. That's the top half of our justice system. The bottom half? Just watch the unarmed minorities getting gunned down by police. Look at the lack of black men willing to open carry or stand their ground. Look at the sentences handed down. Look at the color coded prison population.
$100,000.00 in pianos stolen? If a black man did that, then throw away the key. If a rich white guy does it, then elect him president.
Some nation of laws we have.
79
All this inside baseball, just keeping the base breathlessly waiting the big one. Still nothing on Trump, himself, and nothing on trump collusion. Lots of noise around Trump - none of which has anything to do with the campaign and Russia collusion; apart from indicting a bunch of unprosecutable ghosts in Russia who are not tied to Trump.
It has been fun rehashing all the high jinx with porn stars and playboy bunnies but at least here in New York it all played in the front page of the papers years ago. Yawn. Couple hundred grand here or there in campaign funds, big deal, that is a everyday occurrence here in New York. You pay a little fine and repay the money. And most importantly of all for the impeachment crowd, none it happened while he was President.
1
He is very afraid of what the Mueller investigation will eventually reveal. His rantings and ravings with his stupid twitters shows someone in a panic mode.
5
I really fail to understand the alarmist rantings about Trump's potential to fire Mueller. Trump is an idiot. He does stupid things. His stupid decision to fire Mueller, if he decides to attempt it, is in line with all of the other capricious and poorly thought out "decisions" he's made. For the same reason that we don't internalize or give credence to the ravings of a lunatic, we won't normalize the crazy things trump does. If we make it out of this abysmal period in our history, trump's actions wont set a precedent other than a precedent of what not to do , and how not to act. His actions won't be repeated or codified.
Furthermore, Mueller must have a contingency plan in place. He's not sitting around thinking to himself, "I sure hope I don't get kicked off this investigation. It would be a shame if all this work was for naught - especially with all of this evidence I've compiled." He has a contingency plan and will make sure that a process will be in place for justice to prevail.
Justice will be served, and our country will be better for it.
2
From your mouth to God's ear!
This is about more than your Nation. This encompasses democracy everywhere. If thugs are allowed to rule we are all in trouble. Let us consider some facts:
Loss of contact with reality? check
Unable to determine one's whereabouts realistically? check
No conscience? check
Unhinged? check
Unable to cope? check
Favoring deception over truth? check
No comprehension of honesty or ethics? check
Emotionally unstable? check
Overwhelmed by anger? check
A symptom of bipolar? check
CONSIDER WHAT AESOP WROTE IN 550 B.C
Any excuse will serve a tyrant.
Who shall bell the cat?
Appearances are often deceiving.
Familiarity breeds contempt.
Borrowed plumes.
The lamb..began to follow the wolf in sheep's clothing.
That's the view from the rainy Left Coast. Perhaps prayer and meditation will help everyone cope. Cheers.
1
If Trump fires Mueller, and the evidence gathered is suppressed, there will be hell to pay. It just may take years to accomplish.
I read a Times comment the other day, in which the commenter noted that he ignored Trump's blasts of tweets because he agreed with the tax breaks and the deregulation. To my mind he speaks for the GOP, tha Machiavellian deal they accept. He may be a dangerous crook, but we got our Justice and our tax cut, so it is all good.
But it isn't all good. It is an evil trade. We have decided we would rather have an unstable and corrupt President, than have to get 60 votes or a super majority to pass laws. We sold our souls for a simple majority.
I can't say I like us much. Let Mueller release what he has found.
5
We've already paid the price with the election of trump. For the past year and a half we've lost stature as a world leader, the White House has become a revolving door for employment leading to very little getting done in the various departments, health care teeters, and so on. All the 'promises' trump made during the campaign have been reneged on except appointing conservative judges to the bench. And he has made a mockery of the government.
Will trump fire Mueller? Rosenstein? Sessions? Like his initial Cabinet appointments he is keeping everyone guessing. It's his private, power game. Of course, he would like to and advisors be damned. After all, didn't McCann threaten to resign if he did? And where is McCann today? (though chances are wherever he is, he's happier and less stressed). Who's left to advise him?
We survived Nixon, whom I thought was the worst. Well Nixon looks like a choir boy compared to this. Well, maybe not so much, but we survived him. What scares me more is not the machinations of the gov but the trump base. We've seen that the gov can handle a change of president and Vice President (Agnew, Nixon and Ford). Trump's base is scarier in that they, through trump and Fox News, see this as a conspiracy to 'get' him. The divide is so deep that we need a Gandhi or Jesus to lead us through it. Pence, not so much. Whatever happens, it will only further the divide, but then trump doesn't care, nor do the inane Rep leaders who posed with him with their thumbs up.
3
You say this isn't about Trump and I agree with you. But from Trump's perspective, it is only about him. From what I can tell, he has never put the needs of anyone ahead of himself, including his family, colleagues, vendors, and, most of all, the country. I believe he would throw his own children under the bus if he thought it would protect him.
Why do his supporters still believe he is their allie?
4
We have three equal branches of government. Seems the judicial - at least a number of appointed federal judges have done their job and now we need our Legislative branch to step up to the plate and make sure Trump doesn't do a damn thing to impede Mueller. This worked when Nixon pulled his Watergate shenanigans and it should work with Trump. Our founders probably didn't for see a complete idiot like Trump coming down the pipe, but they did construct a system of government to protect us from presidents who wanted to become dictators.
5
The question is not what happens if Trump fires Mueller. The question is what happens if Congress does not fire Trump for placing himself above the law in doing so.
We have something the Founding Father never contemplated. Institutional Treason. This is when the collective actions of the government, but not one of any individual, add up to a Treasonous outcome.
Trump firing Mueller and Congress doing nothing would be Institutional Treason and a frontal assault on the Constitution of the United States.
At that point in time what is the rights and the responsibilities of the American Public? A good case can be made that the American Public would be within its inalienable right to do whatever it takes to rectify the situation and not have to wait for an election to try and do something.
It may well be that we are, as historians say, watching in real time the "Roman Replay" and the destruction of the Republic.
The only question is will the average American sit by and allow the Rule of Law be ignored and the Constitution placed into a shredder or not?
3
This is not about Trump, it is about Congress or the lack of congressional over site. When one gear in the machine fails the machine fails. In this case, the Presidency is failing and the Congress is failing to fix the problem.
2
Re: " it might well be difficult to find a credible figure to obey instructions and curb the special counsel. "
Unfortunately, the figure would not have to be "credible." She or he would only have to be legally authorized to take that action. After all, the Republican Party in 2016 found it not only difficult, but actually impossible to find a credible candidate to nominate for President, and yet here we are.
3
This is all about today's US culture.The majority of Trump supporters buy into the "deep state" and see the Mueller investigation as a prime example.The whole basis of "equality before the law" is already undermined since millions of Americans who believe the law does not treat everyone equally.It is hypocritical to argue that no one is "above" the law when verdicts and penalties are widely believed to depend on the ability to afford great attorneys or the color of one's skin.If Trump fires Mueller (or has him fired) there may be widespread condemnation but self -interest will re-assert itself very quickly.The Mid Terms will show us whether we are a First or Third World country.Given the ignorance and short attention span of so many Americans, it is highly doubtful that closing down the Mueller investigation now will materially affect an event more than 6 months away.
Pay is the figurative word in this Oped's headline, while behind the scenes Mueller is following the money that ultimately cause Trump's finality.
2
Mueller has long known that the day would come when Trump would fire him. Does any sensible person doubt that he has long since set up any number of legal land mines to blow Trump out of the White House once Trump is gone? Who can doubt that Mueller's tossing the legal ball of Cohen's omniscient record of Trump's affairs into the lap of the Feds in NY was the equivalent of given them the key to everything he's already found out in his own investigation, so that the grand jury set up in Manhattan about Cohen and Trump--a grand jury which Trump and Dershowitz are absolutely helpless against--will have the capacity to bring Trump down legally on any number of fronts, not least the Russian connection? Trump's problem is that he's a fool whose greatest folly has always been overestimating his intelligence who's now met an opponent in Mueller who run circles around him intellectually. Mueller will especially relish destroying Trump by remote control, so to speak, after Trump and the increasingly pathetic Dershowitz think they've gotten rid of Mueller and his threat to end Trump's presidency.
4
Oh, please. Plueeeeze!
This is not about anything but power.
That is and always has been what our politics is about.
Trump can and likely will fire Mueller and the whole thing will end not with a bang but with a whimper.
The Republicans in Congress and the Supreme Court will nod in ascent and the whole exercise will end.
The only wonder is why he hasn't done it already.
1
With all that’s going on in Washington now between Trump being investigated, him wanting to end the investigation, Republicans with nary a care for the good of our country and democracy, I look back at Trumps predecessor and marvel at what an honorable man President Obama was , and still Republicans had to oppose him just for the sake of opposition.
How ironic that the main clown maligning President Obama intellect , full of grace and respect is now tearing down any scintilla of exceptionalism we had left before Republicans ran honor and dignity out of town.
I’m disgusted but hopeful that whoever becomes our next president whether it be in 3 years or 7 , will once again bring our country’s heritage back with honor. I refuse to think that this one self absorbed narcissistic who cares nothing for our country will change our country permanently. No , “ We , the people “ must bring it back with our vote .
1
The nation has already paid a big, big price. Credibility is gone. Ratified treaties are just that, agreements between countries, not between men. Trump the emperor didn't negotiate the treaty so he doesn't feel duty bound to adhere to it.
Why will any country on Earth ever believe that any ratified agreement with the US is anything but a temporary convenience to be blown off on a whim?
In that scenario, for Trump to fire Mueller and suffer real consequences could be a positive outcome. If the world sees us come to our senses and get rid of this contemptible, dishonest, liar, perhaps that will buy some credibility with a future leader of stature, provided that we elect one.
72
Optimum phrase here “future leader of stature, provided that we elect one.” Here in lies our problem, trump goes and we get Pence. Not a person of stature that the American people elected. He is the receipetent of an election, still under investigation. Weather the truth shows that our election was in fact usurped by Russian intervention, we do know that, it was influenced by them through social media and other media outlets.
What is needed is for trump to exit and for the American people to get a second chance at electing its leader and not one already compromised by fraudulent means.
5
I cannot vote cause I live up north but if Trump fires Rosenstein or Mueller I will cross the border just 50 miles from my home and take to the street with the people that make America Great and with one voice demand the respect of the Laws and democracy.
2
Why does Trump want to fire Mueller?
I haven’t understood that. Except from the perspective of a guilty man afraid of his crime being discovered.
After all, Mueller can’t prosecute the President. All he can do is expose the crooks and traitors around him and prosecute them. Trump has the power of pardon. Mueller can write a report about Trump but it’s not like the spineless Republicans are ever going to impeach him.
What are Trump’s options?
Trump fires Mueller. The Patriotic part of the nation rises up in anger against the “law and order candidate” and votes the complicit Republicans out in November.
Trump does nothing. Mueller presents a report. Congress does nothing. Republicans likely get voted out, but there’s time to obfuscate.
Fire Mueller and it’s over for Trump. Because, the game Trump was playing was political not legal. Legally no one can force a crooked president out of office if his party refuses to follow constitutional responsibilities. It’s the political impact he should be concerned about.
The political impact is worse if he fires Mueller because he looks guilty and enrages people to vote in the 2018 in record numbers.
If he lets Mueller do his job, there’s no reason to believe that incontrovertible evidence would be produced before Nov and in any case it’s not like Mueller report is released to public.
Trump should let Mueller do his job like he shouldn’t have fired Comey proving obstruction. But, Trump can’t stop himself because he’s guilty...
5
Nick, our nation is already paying the price of having elected the most ignorant, vulgar carney barker in TV history to our presidncy. To late to make up scenarios about "if Trump fires "Mueller", etc. - if he does - OK, if he doesn't - OK. In our sick culture Trump's, aberrent and colossally awful presidency "is what it is". Let the meltdown of Trump continue as it will.
Yesterday's photo of the Republican leaders grinning around their fake president - all with their thumbs-up (lord, how ghastly!) - is just another milestone on the road to perdition for all of us. If Sessions continues to hold onto his AG seat at the Trump table, if Rod Rosenstein fires Robert Mueller at the whim of Trump, if, if, if, - we can't see farther ahead than today's undoubtedly execrable news, Nick! Reminds us of the old cute jingle when America wasn't so concerned about her president and his ascent (and prayed-for downfall) - "If, if, if, nature should forget, run to your medicine cabinet, get Ex-Lax, get Ex-Lax, if, if, if"!
3
I couldn't agree more.
1
"When you're a star(wealthy)... you can do anything to women." The GOP gave Trump a pass when he spent years claiming Pres. Obama was a Kenyan. They wanted his money. They wanted Pres. Obama weakened.
During the campaign they let him say anything he wanted, including mocking American POWs and a sitting senator, mocking a Gold Star family, women's appearances, a disabled reporter and numerous other insults and outrages. They wanted his money and they wanted Hillary Clinton weakened.
Evangelicals turned a blind eye and a deaf ear throughout the campaign. They wanted his support and they wanted his female opponent weakened.
Wealthy donors supported Trump. They wanted tax cuts and they wanted environmental rules weakened.
This was always transactional. Trump was a racist sexist demagogue before and after the election. The Republican Party could have forced him out early on. They had numerous other more highly qualified candidates. Evangelicals could have condemned his bigotry, lack of morality, numerous affairs and lies.
Republicans and Evangelicals have continued for the past year to turn deaf ears and blind eyes to Trump's constant outrages. They've given him one mulligan after another.
Justice is blind. Like the Fates, she is female. We will see if Trump can continue to have everything he wants.
Regardless, more then half of voters are women, and most are not wealthy. We're coming too.
This is a test of American democracy.
7
No matter what, when all this is over, Mueller has acquired enough info. to write books, yes books, to become a new multi-millionaire! Was he at the right place at the right time, who knew?
1
Silly lit'l Nick. There's a reason Trump was in the midst of high ranking military officers when he last, and most fiercely, attacked Mueller and the FBI. It isn't about the law and investigations. That was long ago in Trump time - maybe a few weeks. Now it's about real power.
All's I can think is it must be very hard being DT right about now, exhaustive. It's hard to be a compulsive liar and trying to keep on consecutively tweeting morning, noon and night, whew, how does he do it? My guess is that he may just get up one day and decide to resign. Maybe he wants to spend more time with his family.
2
Too late to complain about the US paying for anything related to justice...the rule of law ended in November 2016. Welcome to the rule of Trump.
2
Maybe it will be all for the best ... to finally stir up enough anger from his Republican cronies to help get him thrown out.
Trump is so unbalanced by his rage he will probably act on his own in a snit and at least attempt to fire Mueller. If he thinks this will stop it all he is deluded. It didn't work for Nixon and it won't work for the less than Einstein like President bone spurs.
1
Let Mueller take his time dotting “i “ and crossing “t” up to the election. Then I hope we have a Democratic speaker who will be 3rd in succession. Because I don’t see Pence getting away Scott free, either.
1
"This is about the kind of nation we live in, and whether we aim to be a nation of citizens equal before the law. This is about America." Yes, eight years of the citizens being equal before the law under Obama...Let's take a quick peek at the demo of our prison industrial complex as an example of our high regard for 'citizens equal before the law.' Or how about the complete lack of accountability afforded the mass murdering, illegal war crime monsters in the Bush administration? Sorry, Nicholas, Trump and his republican pals are simply a continuation of the long honored USA tradition of having a two tiered legal system.
1
"For the good of the country?" Trump cares not a whit about this country. Every thought, utterance, act, is for his own benefit. He didn't run for office because he cared about our country or its citizens. He ran to settle a score he imagined he had with Obama and to get publicity for himself. What has he done up until now that has been for the good of the country? He thought being President was going to be a bigger reality show than the one he had and he could order people around until he got bored and fired them. He has no interest in the country except to flaunt its laws and make money. What a joke. For the good of the country. Ha!
3
Nobody really cares anymore what Trump says or does. Wacky and unpredictable behavior are the norm, it's baked into the cake. We know who this guy is, and knew what he was at the time of the election. Almost anyone but Hilary would have beat him, but Hilary ran so there you go.
The repeated, unrelenting critical articles are tiresome, pointless, and empty. Can we please report on something else?
Firing Mueller will be Trump's second big slap on the integrity of FBI. And, the investigation would still continue - most likely with multiplied gusto.
Knowing Mueller, he’s already got a game plan in case he’s fired. I’m guessing that he’ll hand off his work to the NY, DC & VA attorneys to continue this work through the criminal courts.
If Trump fires Mueller, America will fire the GOP Congress, and then, with a new Congress not only impeach Trump, but imprison him too.
Same to Pence, if he tries to “pardon” Trump.
Want to make the 2018 election about whether or not to impeach Trump?
Go ahead, make my day.
1
Eloquent as always....thank you. But I refuse to concede that this miscreant should be allowed to get away with it - that the feckless, pusillanimous Republicans in Congress should also be allowed to weave, duck and dodge, dissemble and carry on as if nothing material had happened; pretend that "it" isn't there and that "....maybe it will go away...". I refuse. I am 58 years old and cannot recall when I have felt more energized and motivated politically than right now......this entire administration and the last 18 months are a national disgrace; that we could have elected this buffoon as president, I fear, speaks to some really frightening, darker truths about our democracy (or dare I say, "plutocracy"). We need another revolution. I just wish I was young enough to be out there with the Patrick Henrys in our midst.
1
Nation to Trump: "Go ahead, make my day."
If Trump fires Mueller then it is a safe bet that not only will the House flip to Democratic control in November, but the Senate will be taken as well. The outrage would galvanize a Democratic response without precedence.
So we can say to Trump, "Go ahead, make our day. And do you think Mueller and his staff have not anticipated your next move? What kind of a legal booby-traps do you think they have set up for you? You with no lawyer. Go ahead, fire Mueller, and watch the vultures descend - not on him, but on you."
1
'Be ye never so high, still the law is above you' (Thomas Fuller, 18c, re-quoted by Lord Justice Denning in the 1960's - still valid today).
While I agree that our ideals are equal justice and this a test at the grandest level, I wonder if the smallest examples that belie this ideal haven’t in part gotten us here... the defendants in LA of poor people without defense attorneys, or folks in perpetual trouble for court fines, or the shooting of black men by police, or private prisons... I fear that the practice have gotten so far from the ideals, that we no longer can see them from here...
26
The broad, multifaceted investigations of Trump and the possible outcomes relegate those of Nixon to the minor leagues.
“A nation of laws” with “We the people” faces its greatest challenge as it confronts all this king’s men.
Mueller may be a casualty but ultimately the truth will not be.
3
Nick,
You’re assuming that the law holds strong. Millions of Americans are hoping that the law ends with the assumption of Dictator Trump, the end of elections, the end of government as they perceive it.
I’m assuming that we’re really at the threshold of an attempted takeover, and rats like Rand are running away because they don’t want to be on trial when it fails.
2
The question isn’t if Trump fires Rosenstein (and then rids himself of Mueller and the investigation), but when. What I don’t understand is the naive assumption that after Trump removes Mueller, we will then move on to normal elections in 2018 and 2020, with Democrats first continuing Mueller’s investigation through the House and / or Senate next January, and then taking back the White House in 2021.
Why would a Trump willing to fire Mueller allow our votes to count in November? Or in any future “rigged” election?
We have a criminally corrupt President. Removing him will be the greatest test this country has faced since 1861.
3
Mr. Trump has repeatedly said 'there is no collusion'. So, why should he be concerned?
Now, Mr. Trump is more concerned and agitated, because the Office of his personal Attorney has been raided. Perhaps, there is a reason why Federal Agents initiated the raid. And, yet, nothing for Mr. Trump to worry about.
But, when Mr. Trump continues to attack the Special Counsel, and even threatening his removal and that of the Deputy Attorney General, that does worry and concern the people and the country.
As POTUS, Mr. Trump should take the lead and respect the rule of law of our country.
2
People keep talking about firing Mueller or firing Rosenstein and then appointing a replacement that will halt Mueller's investigation but no one tells us readers what happens to all of the information that Mueller has? Can he go on 60 Minutes and spill his guts? Can Congress call him before them in a public forum and have him spill his guts there? Where is this information?
In any case, lots of talking heads on TV keep saying that if Mueller is fired, there will be mass protests in the street. There have been mass protests in the streets by lots of people since Trump was elected. They march, they chant, they go home and it's forgotten about the next day. Nothing ever comes of it so what really would happen if Mueller was fired?
1
The GOP is doing nothing to pass veto proof legislation which precludes Trump's obnoxious whims. On every issue.
Remember this in Nov., or we deserve all the consequences.
Firing Mr. Mueller has to be seen as nothing short of admission of guilt. How the President's base react is and what they choice to believe is another story.
1
But we already know that we are NOT a nation where all citizens are equal before the law. Trump being exhibit #1 of how money (and white) protects the wealthy from the law. The ideal of equality before the law is worthy of all efforts but we have always fallen way short of fulfilling the promise mostly due to racism and income inequality.
We always patted ourselves on the back with the salve of 'at least we are trying'.
Will Trump be the breaking point? Trump world will continue to explain away all transgressions and most in the cult could care less. We knew he was a con and we don't care even now that he is POTUS.
And Democrats crying in the halls of Congress? The party has been stellar in snatching defeat from the jaws of potential victory on numerous occasions.
Trump's America is divided and mean. Freedom is just a word applied to the GOP defined worthy. Unless all those who are scorned and being denied these freedoms come together as one and protest and vote, we are in for an ugly future.
Special Counsel Muller took over an FBI investigation that began during the summer of 2016. But two years of investigation has—as far as we know—produced no evidence of collusion between Russian and the Trump campaign. Meanwhile, the Russians who meddled in the 2016 election have been indicted and punishment have been imposed in the form of sanctions. However, Muller’s appointment order authorizes him to investigate any links or coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the campaign of President Donald Trump and any matters that may arise directly from the investigation, as well as possible instruction of justice. It’s like the “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon” parlor game based on the "six degrees of separation" concept, which posits that any two people on Earth are six or fewer acquaintance links apart. This is why we keep reading reports of Trump associates with vague “links” or “ties” to the Kremlin. Muller apparently hasn’t discovered any evidence of collusion, but he can go on investigating links or coordination and related matters forever. And he can keep spinning off unrelated matters like the Stormy Daniel hush money affair to FBI district offices. If the Muller investigation has morphed from its original purpose to annulling the results of the 2016 election, it should be shut down
1
It would seem that the investigation has gone on as long as it has because the investigators keep finding more and more leads and more and more people who need investigating. They are trying to discover exactly how and the extent to which the Russians subverted our election. So far, Trump and his minions have done nothing but lie, obfuscate, and conspire with Fox News to interfere with those appointed by his own justice Department to find out the truth, while Trump wails, "No collusion!" He doesn't know if Mueller has found evidence and neither do you.
3
Mueller is a republican. Yhe people above him at the FBI are Republicans. The Judges who sign off on the warrants are Republicans.
Who are these Democrats of which you speak who have any part in this?
All anybody who claims to be a Democrat has on this is just the moral power of their voices. Ask the Democrats in the House of Representatives how far that got them with that "investigation".
1
Many Republicans despise Trump.
Sadly, the United States showed what kind of country it was when it elected Trump President. The question now is whether enough people have learned from this cancerous presidency to limit the damage. I wish I was more optimistic.
2
The United States showed it was a country that wanted to take care of its own people by bring back the jobs that left millions of people unemployed or underemployed. Several hundred thousand of those people who lost jobs live in states where the sky is Carolina Blue. Company after company closed plants after NAFTA passed, devastating small towns and communities across state after state.
Will those jobs come back? We can only hope so. But perhaps you could try to understand the feelings of people who lost those jobs, people who live in the Southeastern states that lost textile and apparel mills; people who live in Michigan and other states that lost automobile factories; and so on.
What impact would there be on the social problems of the USA if there were a million jobs - jobs with decent wages and fringe benefits? I submit the impact would be enormous: men could marry the women they love and create families that they could support. Drug use should drop, as men and women have hope for jobs. Taxes could be expected to drop.
Have you tried to understand the feelings of the millions of people who have hope for the return of jobs?
1
Azalea, I hate to tell you this but the jobs are not coming back and Trump doesn't care. As long as corporations can make money with cheap overseas labor and Americans want cheap goods, we are invisible. I lost a good-paying job, went to another industry, then returned to the old one. Did they pay me what I made before? No, lopped $20,000 off and said take it or leave it.
There are still the November elections. If Trump fires Mueller or shuts down the investigation, I have faith American voters will rise in mass and replace every Republican possible in Washington. With new veto-proof Democratic majorities, Trump's wings WILL be put in a box.
When McConnell and other GOP senators say that they are 'confident' Mueller won't be fired they lie --> they are signalling to Trump to go ahead and fire him. And count on there not being any consequence to Trump afterwards. It's most likely that once Mueller is fired, we will descend quickly into the full fascist state that they prefer (quickly, because November is practically here, and they'll need to suspend elections - 'national security' grounds - in time to retain their majority). I hope I'm wrong.
The investigation is about obstruction? I thought it was collusion...when did that Dem. talking point change? Anyone who believes this investigation is anything but a political witch hunt should have their head examined.
1
Excellent editorial.
This is really a case where the whole (the democratic survival of our country) is greater than the sum of all the many unethical and illegal components being uncovered in the government's investigations of Mr. Trump.
Kristof is correct. Republicans and Trump supporters are desperately trying to keep the focus narrowed to each Trump incident.
As one of our relatives said, "Ridiculous investigating Trump for several affairs he had years ago!"
Another added, "Trying to prove that Trump colluded with the Russians is a pure witch hunt by the Democrats and waste of taxpayer money." No surprise where they got their talking points.
But these reactions are very disturbing, because how can a democracy function when unethical, illegal, immoral, and dangerous acts are only viewed as serious when the other party commits them and are dismissed is irrelevant when one's preferred party is accused?
My New England Yankee father taught us to think in universal terms when it comes to morality, and wrong is wrong no matter who does the wrong thing.
Our country is being sorely tested by President Trump, and given the stonewalling and counterattacks by Trump, right-wing media, and too many Republicans, I am afraid this may be our final exam if Mueller is actually fired.
None of the important facts will change no matter who is in charge. The facts will not be newly created, but rather have already happened. They are documented somewhere and will eventually be revealed. Then it is just a matter of putting the pieces together, much like a jigsaw puzzle. The whole picture will then be obvious. There will be nothing to argue about.
2
The day of reckoning will come and justice will be served. It is inescapable. Praying that God will answer the cries of all the people for mercy from the likes of our "so-called" president and his oligarch cabinet set on destroying the very departments they serve and thus, deconstructing our democracy while personally gaining more wealth for themselves and doing more damage to the poor, alien and fatherless, who God loves.
1
We have already been paying a heavy price for Trump's puerile, vindictive tantrums. Your voice is a calming reassurname that reason and sanity, in the end, will prevail and that Trump will inevitably be hoist on his own petard even before or whether Mueller completes his mission. Love your columns!
I am confused about the idea that if Mueller is "fired" the investigation needs cease. Can't it continue on under new oversee? I would imagine millions of Americans would be glad to re-hire him.
Mueller is methodically untangling the numerous Russian and other financial corruption Trump and his cohorts are deeply involved. The investigation into Cohen was legally done. It was not an attack on the country, but on Trump and his decades of lies and cover ups and ways and means of skirting the law. He has made a career of skirting the law. He is the mob. He is probably Russian.
1
The nation is already paying. It has been paying since Trump took office. All Americans should accept the fact that Trump has dragged his tawdry business and personal life daily into the Oval Office. It hasn't gotten better. It has only worsened.
To assume that we have a president devoted full-time to the responsibilities of the nation is nonsense. He isn't mentally focused on the job because of all his legal distractions. He isn't even physically focused on the demands. What other job would allow you to remain in your bedroom until 11a daily to watch TV programs about yourself? We've been paying an exorbitant price for his time as president for far too long. If he fires Mueller, we'll just pay more.
2
Our system is founded on “equality before the law?” Ask African Americans and other minorities what they think about that. Our system is of, by, and for the wealthiest. Enshrined in our constitution, codified in our laws, and upheld by our judiciary.
I'm old enough to have lost most of my illusions, but I really thought the republicans were better than this, more honorable than this. I disagreed with their politics, but I assumed they were patriotic and decent people, for the most part. I hope history names and blames every despicable sycophant among them.
4
Trump can't fire Mueller, or have the investigation neutered. Plenty of good American citizens will cry foul. But perhaps even more so, many people who thrive on the cliffhanger, one of Trump's favorite techniques on The Apprentice and in his campaign, will scream bloody murder if they're deprived of the opportunity to see how this particularly juicy cliffhanger turns out. Too bad for President Trump, because it looks like when the ending is revealed, his presidency will be cancelled.
The Republicans who utter strong warnings for disaster if Donald J. Trump files Mueller but who refuse to bring up a bill to protect Mueller (claiming they don't see evidence that Trump will fire his nemesis) are either hoping their warnings will cause Trump to react as usual by ignoring warnings, or they are whistling past a national graveyard. One things's for sure: Hypocrisy is not dead inside The Beltway.
If Trump fires Muller (and/or Rosenstein or Sessions), the Republicans will be to blame for the consequences.
Doug Giebel, Big Sandy, Montana
1
We are about to find out that the rule of law is not free; there will be a price to pay to preserve it. It only remains to be seen how steep that price is.
2
Any republican member of congress who stood up and pointed out that the emperor has no clothes would be noted historically as trying to save the Republic. I find myself wondering if the entire GOP membership of congress is suffering from some kind of "bystander effect;" presuming that the next nearby person will do the required thing.
1
Since the nation consists of 320 million Americans including 63 million who voted for Republican Donald Trump as President of the United States while Republicans control both houses of Congress along with a Republican majority of the Supreme Court of the United States it is not clear who will pay and how they will pay if Trump fires Mueller.
1
Any window of opportunity for Donald Trump to end the investigation has closed now that Mueller has guilty pleas and cooperating witnesses in hand. The investigation continues because Donald Trump knows that Flynn and the growing list of cooperating witnesses have a story to tell and it will be told one way or the other. Donald Trump has served his purpose of delivering Republicans to the promised land but is now an albatross and Republicans will be relieved to put him behind them.
2
The nation has already paid a huge price. The price of integrity and credibility. Each day this atrocity sits on the throne the nation suffers further embarrassment and increasingly diminished principles. Regression has become the norm and we are all paying for that.
6
Trump’s entire career was spent in bullying the little guy and imposing his will on regulatory authorities.In business and in government all that counts is Trump.He must accept the realities of a democratic society.A free and independent press. A constitution. An independent court system.Mr.President accept these traditional democratic safeguards or leave.America is bigger than you.
5
Trump will fire Sessions, Rosenstein, and/or Mueller, and he'll get away with it. The GOP will do absolutely nothing, and the worst thing that will happen is that Trump might the 2020 election. He certainly doesn't care what will happen to the nation, as he's proven from the day he took office.
2
Dear Mr. Kristof,
while you believe in the rule of law and in logical thinking, Trump is a lose cannon who simply acts on his own set of ever changing rules.
Forget your consideration, US law allows Trump to fire Mueller and if he feels like it, for whatever reason, he will do so.
Like he will go to war regardless of the law and rules and later consequences.
Trump has always ignored laws, rules and social contracts.
So forget your musings and considerations, Trump will do what ever comes to his mind.
And yes, he will fire Mueller sooner or later and yes, he will go to war with Syrian and possibly start WW3.
Why?
No one knows possibly not even Trump himself.
2
Every time I read articles like this one, I wonder what the nature of the conversation was like after the press was ushered out of the room where Trump was discussing our response to the recent Syrian chemical attack with the leaders of our military defense.
Of course, I meant "discussing his response"...
This nation has long operated under two legal systems. One for people who can afford top lawyers and the other for everyone else.
You have to be pretty blatantly criminal to belong to the first group and still actually receive meaningful punishment (though that hasn't happened yet).
That makes me think that we've only seen the narrowest of slivers of Trump's crimes.
1
I am genuinely curious: when was the last time you can remember that Republicans did something that curved their own power for the good of the country?
Trump will fire Mueller, Republicans will protect trump and block impeachment. Trump is fairly untouchable so long as the Senate is rigged in favor of small rural states.
2
Trump's continued howling leads me to believe he is guilty of all sorts of things. I just do not know what they are yet.
Other than adultery, pay-offs, 6 bankruptcies, stiffing of business associates, a fake University and the bilking of the students, his racist remarks and his fake news theories.
Most of these events were prior to his election. And all of these events let us know that he neither possessed the character, ethics or temperament to lead this nation.
And now he has the Republican Party fully behind him. So what does this tell us about the Republicans in office?
That they too possess a lot of the same characteristics and will do nothing to protect the Mueller investigation.
Our only hope at this point is that Mueller is almost finished the investigation and is ready to report the outcomes. I hope one of those outcomes is Treason charges. Impeachment just won't do it. After all, Clinton served as President after his Impeachment, so what is the point of Impeachment. It does not serve this country, which is in the worst possible state it could be in.
2
Treason is only applicable if we are in a war, but your points are spot on.
Between the situation in Syria and North Korea war could very well happen.
I also believe Treason is applicable when you have aided and abetted the enemy.
If they tie Trump to Russia and Putin....... Treason?
Trump's attack on America is his deluded view of himself as being above the law. He won allegedly the electoral college in a tainted election with Russian meddling and Comey's inappropriate intrusions, and Wikileaks's revelations.
American democracy was attacked and this must be investigated. As President he must be a leader of high integrity and moral character. If he engaged in criminal activities in the election campaign, in his Presidency, in his businesses and personal life, this is open to review since he is a powerful public figure who is supposed to lead and represent the interests of the American people.
He cannot ever be above the rule of law and is empowered to uphold the Constitution. The attack on America will stem from his failure to do so!
To me he seems likely guilty of many crimes against America and he needs to receive the same level of justice as the average citizen.
1
He can destroy the rule of law from within and he and the people who support him (Sessions, Miller, Pruitt, to name a few) are busy doing just that. We cannot let up our protests and our taking action because if we do, they will just keep chipping away. The institutions that uphold our democracy cannot stand if they are not supported by us.
2
"Republicans and Democrats alike are pleading with Trump, begging, for the good of the country: Don’t go there. This is larger than Trump. It is a struggle for the idea of equality before the law."
Anyone who can get Donald Trump to accept any part of the quoted paragraph would be able to talk a hole through a yuge, beautiful, fantastically beautiful, wall.
Bipartisan legislation has been introduced in the Senate to protect Mueller from Trump's irrationality. If it passes there and then (much bigger) if it makes it through the House, guess where it goes next. So now we are back to the Senate for 2/3 majority veto-overriding vote (Ha!) and then the House for a similar margin (hysterical Hahahahaha!), Trump will have already canned Rosenstein and put a puppet in his position with Mueller escorted out the door, physically if need be, and into the street.
Trump will have Mueller gone before the debate in the Senate starts.
2
The sooner Trump fires Mueller, the sooner we'll discover just how replete the corruption in the swamp is. Mueller is its point man. "You're fired!" Can't happen soon enough. Let's get this Mueller sideshow on the road.
Equality before the law is an absolute farce in the U.S. and should be considered the shame of the nation. The rich can afford much better legal defence than the poor, judges routinely link sentencing to socio-economic background (Affluenza teen anyone?), and violence against women often gets a slap on the wrist (Brock Turner and his father's "20 mins of fun" syndrome....the struggle is far deeper and more meaningful than Trump.
1
Mr. Mueller has turned an investigation into Russia's election meddling into a political attack on all of Trump's friends. Mueller's incompetence is hidden by his sinsational diversion into sexual material in Cohen’s files.
What about tax evasion - the crime that took down Al Capone and Leona Helmsley? The IRS has been dragging its feet on the Trump audits. Follow the money and let the FBI look at Trump's tax returns and business records. We all know what has motivated Mr. Trump and it is either legal or it is not.
1
I believe New York is handling Cohen, it Mueller.
Nicholas seems confused. Citizens are not equal before the law. The law discriminates between rich and poor. Black and White. ALL THE TIME.
Police shoot unarmed black males at a rate far higher than they shoot unarmed whites. We've built an entire political structure on housing discrimination. The poor have to plea bargain to stay out of jail; the rich go to court and win. Massachusetts charges you $25 to dispute a speeding ticket.
This country was founded for the benefit of rich white males who didn't want to pay their fair share. In 250 years, nothing has changed.
3
Allowing those power to get away with it may not help the poor, but at least it is a step in the right direction. We can't stop trying to live up to the ideal.
There will be little to no blow back from Trump firing Mueller. Trump has an 85% approval rating among the GOP. It would go up if Mueller were fired. Pundits will go nuts, but they are not the country. These same pundits built Paul Ryan into some sort of financial wizard, and he was anything but. Political reporters and commentators really don't have a clue about what average Americans think. If he fires Mueller, it will be gone from the news pages in 3 days. And nothing will change. A few GOP congress people will make some statements, then move on, since they are getting everything they want. There is no risk for Trump to fire Mueller. Anyone who says the opposite is deluding themselves.
Donald Trump will "fire" Mueller, the Republican members of Congress will do nothing, and it is possible Trump will win a second term. A Democratic super majority would be ideal to hold Trump in check, but as Trump spreads his poison keep in mind that if a nation can survive a civil war, it can certainly survive Donald Trump.
Trump will fire Mueller and nothing will happen to Trump. We will then be past the tipping point to full-on authoritarianism and Trump will be the new normal.
2
After Richard Nixon resigned, we learned in the David Frost interview of Nixon that "when the president does it, that means it is not illegal". That's how President Trump views his own actions.
Note that Nixon knew when he was lying, his lies served our country or the Republican party, and he felt guilty about lying. In contrast, Trump does not seem to know what the truth is and he only works to serve himself, not our country, Also, Trump is shameless.
Reality is that President Nixon had far better character than Donald Trump. That's not saying much, since most junkies have better character than Trump.
Bernie Madoff's character and crimes are worse than Trump's. Bernie reduced the endowments serving more than 100,000+ physically and mentally disabled adults and children of Black Hat Orthodox in Brooklyn from over $100,000,000 to 0. The aged, blind, crippled, deaf, and demented were thrown out of nursing homes. So far, Trump has not done anything as bad as that.
1
Let US hope that if Trump fires Mueller, that We the People will rise up and demand Trump's impeachment, conviction, and removal from office.
Rescue the Republic. Give control of Congress to the Democrats in November.
People should be outraged that congress has not protected Mueller, and the investigation overall.
If trump fires Mueller, there will be irreversible damage done to our country and our democracy.
People should and will rebel against trump and his administration should this occur.
2
I admit to being a broken record on the subject but we have Trump today as president in large measure because of the supreme court ruling that has opened the floodgates for a form of legalized bribery and influence peddling in our political system.
Look at the degree of incompetence and lack of integrity evident in congress today. Though not directly related, the embarrassing questions asked of Zuckerberg in his hearings yesterday and today are also reflective of how ineffectual congress has become. It's easier to envision Trump firing Rosenstein because of the republican congress being both inept and entirely self-serving and failing to put the interests of the country above their own party.
Big money connects the (corrosive) dots between these seemingly separate issues.
1
Nicholas Kristof,
There is nothing in the US Constitution about the concept of citizens being “equality” before the law!
America is, and always has been, a nation of citizens unequal before the law. This is the America of our founding fathers and the US Constitution that they wrote!
The President is the face of America and Donald Trump is the face of America today, unequal and above the laws, of normal citizens.
I don't believe that Donald Trump was freely elected. Working class republicans wanted to send a protest message to the Republican Party. Russian operatives manipulated the election both on-line and through manipulation of computerized voting systems. Trump got in by accident through Putin and now Putin doesn't know what to do with him. America is too distracted by heavily commercialized "news" sources to even know what is going on. The country is just like an airplane with a child at the controls. Lay low and maybe it won't land on you.
2
Write your members of Congress to let them know that if Trump fires Mueller, we will be marching.
As for Trump, for years, he’s been able to slink away from his poor decisions with little consequence. Now the chickens are finally coming home to roost.
1
A fair-minded observer might have difficulty understanding how our president could sincerely and emphatically protest his innocence while other fair-minded, responsible adults keep pointing out obvious discrepancies to that scenario. Most of us simply cannot fathom the depth of dishonesty required to make such claims, and so we assume that someone is lying. If we are supporters of the president, we assume it's the investigators who are being dishonest; if we do not support the president, of course we assume he is simply lying through his teeth.
What we fail to consider is the president's unique and troubling value system that is so incomparably different from ours. Unlike the common right/wrong, good/bad, true/false paradigm most of us grew up with, DT's value system is purely egocentric: if it advances his agenda, it's good and right and just and true. If not, it is evil, unjust, unfair, false, etc.
Once we take into account this fundamental difference, DT's denials make complete sense. To him, failure to support his agenda is unquestionably wrong, evil, unAmerican, dishonest, and unjust.
Which is why his supporters completely miss the mark when they say character is incidental: character is everything. Those who profess to be leaders must possess character; if not, we all suffer the consequences.
4
There folly is their undoing. But whose? Trump's- one would certainly hope. The Republican Party?- their captiulation to authoritarianism and political expediency, justification enough.
The nation?- its folly already unfolding as cherished institutions erode and good people sent out to slaughter- but can it be stopped? Is the damage permanent?
The world? Perilously dancing near the abyss of war and destruction.
Dangerous times indeed. The scales of justice weighed out not in a news cycle, but over decades, centuries and eons. and how long we wait in our collective hands.
Justice knows not mercy- but the cold, hard hand of truth her only arbiter. Nature does not wait on fools- it buries them in infamy.
1
He needs to fire Mueller ASAP, special counsel has done nothing to uncover any crimes and has indicted no one, they continue to waste tons of taxpayer money on this wild goose chase now looking for receipts from Hooker's.
He's had enough time, and everyone has been more than patient with this investigation, either it's there or it's not, in this case, it's clearly not.
1
We are nearing the heart of the matter. Do Republicans stick with the child-man they have pledged allegiance to and have been excusing for all his abuses of office, or do they get off their knees and stand with the US Constitution and America's rule of law?
Since the Justice Department works for the American people, not the president, Trump cannot legally fire Mr. Mueller (although consideration of what is legal has never stopped Trump from breaking laws; he just has his fixer create a cover-up). But, since Sessions recused himself, legally, only the US Deputy Attorney General can fire Mr. Mueller.
So can Trump appoint someone to replace Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein to fire Mr. Mueller? Of course! Trump's fixer, Cohen would be his likely choice, but Trump might just appoint Eric, who has the right kind of Trumpian experience, to do the dirty work.
As horrible as it has been, Trump's "presidency" has benefited America. It has exposed Republicans, Evangelicals, Conservatives, Tea Party Radicals, Fox and Fools, hate-radio, all to be Trumpoons - phony Americans.
When Trump orders Mr. Mueller's firing, look for Trumpoons to rally to Trump's side. Don't think for a minute that they will desert him. He is their lord; they are his congregation.
Marches are marches. Rallies are rallies. Civil disobedience is American.
3
The most profound effect on me of 22 years of living in Sweden and being able to read Times OnLine early every morning has been to teach me how little I knew about my country of birth and my fellow Americans and also to learn how many illusions I held about that country.
The firing of Mueller by Trump would be catastrophic and cut one more thread from which some illusion still hangs.
While we wait can you and others, even clever comment writers, devote less space to Trump and much more to giving voice to what the Democratic Party must offer us as we look forward to November.
Verified Karen Garcia, never just clever, always deeply serious is one such voice from comment land. Who are those who will be on our ballots in 2018 and 2020 who can free us from the plot against America by proposing possible futures?
Names?
Only-NeverInSweden.blogspot.com
Dual citizen US SE
2
I'm confused about this notion of "firing Mueller and ending the investigation" - all of the discoveries Mueller has made are not stored in his brain and unavailable if he is muzzled. If Mueller is replaced, even by someone who would certainly be a Trump sycophant and sympathizer, all of the information is still there, likely spread over many different computer systems (though secured for the moment). It can not be destroyed.
Everything will eventually be revealed. Conspirators will eventually be exposed. The longer this goes on before their fall, the greater they will feel the collapse.
Firing Mueller would do nothing but temporarily delay the inevitable: the exposure of Trump and his minions and family (often one and the same) as a criminal and often traitorous enterprise.
126
Jeff Sessions would move in & shred everything. Do not think that the DOJ is not in Trump's pocket right now. Of course, Mueller may be intelligent enough to keep duplicate files off campus that can be produced if the originals disappear. Sessions will do anything to protect his job & his president. Trump has enough anger for a "Watergate" type raid on Mueller's office.
9
But how can that (shredding) possibly be legal or Constitutional? Or, are you talking about Sessions and his minions acting outside of the law? That would risk not just obstruction for Trump but for all appointees at the DoJ.
Probably the Mueller team is keeping a dossier with everything they have and know, updated daily, in the vaults of the New York Times, to be published in case something bad happens to the investigation.
4
To those who think Mueller should be fired, I ask: who would you rather have had led this investigation? Would you want the person hearing the evidence against someone being investigated for doing something against you in a criminal case to have a bias in favor of the investigated person? And if that judge heard that the investigated had potentially done something else criminal unrelated to your complaint, should that be ignored? Stop thinking like Trump and start recognizing these people have a license to practice and have made an oath to uphold the constitution. If you were in their shoes, how far would you go and how much of a sacrifice would you make to protect someone that could have broken the law? All the legal people involved are trying to do the right thing here. Based on the oaths they have taken . Trump and his supporters aren't interested in that . Because they can't picture themselves in Mueller's, Sessions', or Rosenstein's shoes. And if Trump is so innocent, what is the issue? That he is being framed. The aren't making up the evidence here. These folks are only following, and agreeing to follow, the breadcrumbs Trump has left them. In short, they are.....doing their jobs.
96
The notion of Trump orchestrating removal of Mueller or those above Mueller, until he can find someone to strong arm into firing him, recalls Richard Nixon's ill-fated staffing moves during the twilight of his debacle.
In no way will trying to fire Mueller or those closely associated create the outcome Trump or the GOP desire. To the contrary. Any of talk of Trump dumping Mueller et al. from his spit and vinegar supporters or Trump himself, with his hedged musings, will not be countenanced.
There is no normalizing the idea that Trump has any prerogative to fire Mueller or actively obstruct this investigation. Elsewhere a commenter said it well and plainly: "...it's impossible to imagine Trump [can] fire Mueller because that would lead to the greatest crisis in the country since the Civil War. If Trump fires Mueller, he will need to be immediately impeached."
If Trump agitates to rid himself of Mueller or other key investigators, it will be met with monumental outrage and he will be committing political suicide and taking the hopes of the GOP with him.
Mueller's investigation must play out unmolested. Anything less will be a disaster for the GOP starting in November and only accelerating. As it stands, the GOP need only decide whether the setback to their agenda will be painfully significant or catastrophic.
57
I wish the entire GOP had to read this, Trouble. You have outlined exactly what the realistic options/outcomes are. Thank you.
3
If firing Mueller, which I am certain will happen, is not political suicide then it's murder - because our democracy will not survive it.
And when the idea of starting a war that could easily go nuclear is considered a "shiny object", you know you have arrived at the gates of hell. And so we have.
5
So, there is a possibility that the subject of the investigation might simply fire the chief investigator and end the whole thing. Some great system we have got here.
3
Jill Stein voters in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan: this is on you.
Don't make the same grave error again.
18
Yes, Lynn in NY, and I would add Bernie Sanders voters. OMGosh, what a mess we're in!
2
I truly believe that we are not a nation of virtuous, freedom loving people. We are the nation that elected Donald Trump. That changed everything.
11
The problem is, Trump does not care what is good for the country and never has - unless you believe - as Trump obviously does - that whatever serves his selfish personal, political or business interests must be good for the nation as well. This is a conflation most dictators or wanna-be dictators (and their fans) buy into. Therefore I have to think it's likely Trump will do the wrong thing and that it will create yet another mess that will become another test for Congress, the courts and our other institutions. I pray we're up to the task.
7
It is indeed unseemly when a man such as Mr. Trump believes that he deserves the wealthy lifestyle he’s been blessed with more than the average Joe on the street, but can’t accept that he also deserves the negative feedback karma is issuing him in the form of an investigation.
You can’t have karma cafeteria style. A person of good character accepts both good and bad equally.
6
Have you given consideration to changing the identity in your comment to another politician or politicians? Hillary Clinton comes to mind for the first of many examples.
1
Deflect, deflect, deflect... When will you apologists for a would-be tyrant give it up? We are talking about the gravest existential threat to our freedoms in living memory. But then looking to the future instead of longing for some "Leave it Beaver" fantasy past is not a common trait of the Trumpenproletariat.
Dear Nick--
You sound so naïve. The Republicans don't care what kind of country we live in. It doesn't matter to them if we carve noble sentiments on buildings or follow age-old maxims of good governance. Their only concern is how to keep control of this powerful country and enrich themselves and their already-rich patrons. It's revolting to see the greed and zero-sum thinking that goes on.
Paul Ryan is now free to retire at a young age because he passed a huge tax cut that puts us in deficit into the foreseeable future and burdens our grand-children with debt to give rich people even more money. One wonders just what those American oligarchs will use their money for?
It's already clear to anyone looking at his photos that Trump is not mentally sound. He pouts, he shouts, he scowls, he glares. The photos of him in the Oval Office with the Russians stand out because he looks so happy and relaxed as he brags about firing his enemy, Comey. But where are the Republicans when this meltdown is happening before our eyes? Retiring. Swell. And don't hope for help if Trump does fire Mueller. They will just pretend that this is normal and move on--maybe more tax cuts will make them happy.
13
Donald Trump has persistently been kryptonite for our democracy from his attacks on the "dishonest," "fake news" media and the 1st amendment that allows "freedom of the press" to his attacks on his Justice Department, the FBI and our intelligence agencies that are the keepers and enforcers of our Constitutional "rule of law." Now with the apparent imminent firing of either Attorney General Jeff Sessions, his deputy, Rod Rosenstein. who controls the Russian investigation, or Special Counsel Robert Mueller III himself, Mr. Trump's will have made his final assault on our democracy. It will then be up to the Republican-controlled Congress to see whether they will honor their oath "to support and defend" the Constitution or, as they have been, submit to an autocrat. This is a price that the nation will be unwilling to pay.
6
This is now bigger than Mueller alone. As of this week, Rosenstein needs the same protection. With the nation's focus on Mueller, Trump will almost certainly attack Rosenstein - if for no other reason to make himself feel good, and to "show his power." It's utterly and completely vile to have to worry bout the President this way, but we elected a craven bully, so we are stuck with him. We would not be here if Republicans in Congress were patriots, but it's " Party Over Country" all the way with them.
To my mind, there's now no difference whether it's Mueller or Rosenstein being discussed: both need protection to keep them out of Trump's reach. Attacking either should bring immediate Impeachment Action against the President. It's Tyranny vs. The Law now, and we need to ensure Law prevails.
7
I would like to see something like the Spiro Agnew scenario. Pence is discovered to have committed a serious felony, resigns, is replaced by a moderate Republican. Then Trump resigns.
2
"equality before the law" took a serious hit when Bill Clinton escaped any punishment for his perjury. Let's hope that trend doesn't continue
2
But isn't making the nation pay exactly what Trump's about?
Every dictator seizes control of a country when it's in total disarray and intractable factions are in extreme conflict.
Exactly the likely scenario if Trump decapitates Mueller: like the Days of Rage following the US bombing of Laos during the Vietnam War. Or the race riots as recently as Rodney King. Or the No Blood for Oil mass demonstrations that compelled Bush not to run again.
Civil disorder is the kind of chaos Trump loves, an excuse for suspending the Bill of Rights for martial law.
We've already paid a premium price with Trump that we won't know the full cost of until he's gone. But firing Mueller will be several magnitudes greater: nothing less than democracy in America.
Let's make sure Mueller makes Trump pay for his treachery first.
8
At this point, I'm fully confident that whatever SHOULD be done is exactly what will not be done. We are all behaving like irresponsible schoolchildren -- indeed we have been doing so for quite some time.
Our country today is illustrative of exactly what responsible people (adults) warned us would happen if we didn't do our homework, eat our vegetables and attend to unpleasant or thankless chores regularly.
We've allowed our collective ids free reign in the public sphere, and this momentum will take time to wind down. There will be much more muck to wallow through before EVERYONE decides that we ALL have to clean up now.
(But I stand ready with my shovel...)
4
"Just embarrassing for...the most powerful person in the world to exhibit a victim complex"? Richard Nixon made a career of it.
4
The monolithic GOP Congress has maintained its silence regarding the current occupant of the White House so as not to anger the Kochs, the Mercers, and millions of Americans who, for reasons of greed, or racism, or simple traditionalism, support the most dangerous president thus far.
The president will fail, will step on his, er, tie, but Pence, the prince of zeal, will take his place and continue repression of democracy.
The best hope on the horizon is that liberals and conservative alike will find common ground to reverse Citizens United with its dollar democracy that allows government to ignore the wishes of 99% of US citizens.
8
Give us a break Mr. Kristof. The high road approach is wearing thin. This is about politicizing the law enforcement apparatus to bring down a President that outrages the PC left. We need Trump not you and your "ideals".
2
"Politicizing"? To what party do Mueller and the rest of the Justice Department officials involved in this investigation belong?
Oh, wait.....
1
Ray—I’m sure a number of readers would be very interested to hear what your ideals would be instead. Also, I’m sure it’s more than just the PC left who is outraged by Trump’s whining, incessant narcissism, warmongering tweeting, and general contempt for those not servile enough to his liking.
1
When Republicans are notified by their voters that their support of Trump will lose them their seat in Congress they will drop Trump like a hot potato but not before then. They will continue to accept his impulsive name calling and his threats and all the other destruction of government that he creates because they support what he does — until it threatens THEM. The least afraid? Republican Senators in red states and Republican Senators who aren’t facing an election.
3
How much time, energy and effort have been put into Republicans and conservatives (we can just call them "Fox & Friends") into finding some wrong doing committed by the Clintons, all on the basis of trying to save our republic from their corruption?
How many infinite hours of congressional hearings, investigations and other effort put into trying to find anything against the Clintons?
All that work and not a single FBI raid, not a single subpoena, not a single indictment, not a single plea deal in exchange for testimony.
And yet here we have President Trump, surrounded by people closest to him, in his campaign, staff and personally, indicted, raided by the FBI, subpoenaed, pleaded guilty, all actions signed off on by his own appointees or by Republicans.
So, "lock her up"?
7
"How much time, energy and effort have been put into Democrats and liberals (we can just call them "MSNBC and CNN") into finding some wrongdoing committed by the Trumps, all on the basis of trying to save our republic from their corruption?"
The above changes to your comment will make sense to you only if you have an open mind.
1
It appears that we have reached the point where the rule of law is about to be tested, not by Trump firing Rosenstein and Mueller but by whether what's left of Republican Party ethics and morals will protect our justice department or will mimic the ranks of Israel, Egypt, Turkey and other democratic aspiring countries succumbing to religious extremism and ethnocentric nationalism. I include Israel with great sadness because religious extremism was held at bay until recent years.
3
Please stop the impeachment conversation. We need checkmate, not impeachment. We certainly do not need Pence, who sees 50% of us as his moral challenge when his wife is not there. How offensive is that to women and in the opposite extreme to trump. We need checkmate by way voting.
3
People can opine on all Trumps lies, bullying etc. but at the end of the day one must lay the blame on his supporters who think he's the second coming despite everything he's done. Until these supporters see what they have elected there is little hope for USA.
4
Yes, this is about America, but primarily because Trump's core supporters continue to enable him, because Trump continues to threaten those who oppose him, because his appointees appear to be more interested in feathering their own nests than in doing their jobs, and because Republicans in Congress continue to abdicate their responsibility to loudly and openly demand honesty, decency and impartiality in government.
More than being about America, however, it is about American individuals who are in positions of responsibility, beginning with the president, who are turning a blind and complicit eye toward his outrageous behavior and that of his appointees, some of which may indeed be illegal.
Americans have a right to know the facts, in spite of a president who spends more time attempting to hide them (and playing golf) than in doing his job.
Yes, the nation will pay a price if Trump fires Mueller, but I would like to think that ultimately, Trump and his enablers will pay a higher price, repaying their debt to the American people, and proving that America is, in fact, still a nation of laws and not of men.
2
If Trump fires Mueller, we enter a dire constitutional crisis. Will the previously supine GOP protect our country? Or will they continue to surrender to Trump and his parade of horrors?
This is a test of the patriotism of the Republican Party. Do they love Trump or America more?
3
Alan Dershowitz is advising the president to fire Mueller - He is telling the president that he has the legal power to do so, and telling the president that even if he gets impeached that congress will not convict him of crimes because the GOP has majorities in both houses.
In effect, Mr. Dershowitz is telling trump he can get away with his crimes if he just fires Mueller. This would be disastrous for our country and our democracy - Tell your congress-people to protect Mueller NOW, before it's too late !
5
To Trump, the wellbeing of this nation is not even a distant second to that of himself. We're an afterthought at best, a hindrance normally.
Trump went ballistic again over the man he appointed Attorney General, saying that Sessions' recusal was bad for the country. What a cheap euphemism! Sessions is bad for the US in myriad ways, but the recusal is not among them. In fact, that is one of the last vestiges of checks and balances, a system which Trump rejects.
And that separation of powers is one of the things which made, and keeps, America great.
1
Dear Mr. Kristof,
You’re right. This is about America. And what is both reckless and absurd is never ending investigations led by Inspector Javerts and Clouseaus that find nothing and still persist. Whether it’s Ken Starr or Robert Mueller, it demonstrates the losers of an election interested not in the good of the country but the annihilation of their opponents.
I may be a libertarian never-Trumper, but watching the apoplectic paroxysms of the left is making me wish for the man’s re-election.
Cordially,
S.A. Traina
2
Be careful what you wish for. And stop drawing false equivalencies.
From your lips to God's ears!!
1
Thanks Mr. Kristoff. This is about America, a land of laws. Deep down, even Trump supporters know they don’t want to live in a police state with a dictator at the helm. Trump’s dreamy look when he spoke about despots who declare presidency for life should be enough to chill us to the bone. It is no longer a fight for Republican or Democratic control...it is a fight for the soul and structure of America.
2
I make no defense of Donald Trump's character or his lack of presidential demeanor, but his most ardent opponents on the left are often as irrational as he is. The same cast of characters who declared that Trump's election was a near mathematical impossibility have been telling us that a "radioactive" or "explosive" revelation was just around the corner since the very moment that their certainty about the election was proven wrong. This is what conspiracy theorists always do. No matter how elusive direct evidence of a conspiracy (collusion) is, they are perpetually convinced that the proof of what they have always "known" is imminent. If Trump did not conspire with the Russians, which is a very plausible premise, then his anger at an investigation that raids his attorney's office is reasonable. Of course, Trump's response will not be reasonable (he is incapable of reasonable behavior). The same people who howled over the FBI simply informing Congress of the state of the investigation into Hillary Clinton are cheering Mueller's assault on attorney-client privilege. It may be the Mueller has just cause for this, but the reaction of the left would be much different if Clinton were the target of the investigation. I would like to know what the extraordinary justification for such a raid was, instead of just assuming it exists.
1
You'll find out, once the warrant is unsealed and we all learn what made a judge decide to issue it. It must have been pretty damned significant for that judge to allow "an assault on attorney-client privilege."
The notion that all Americans are equal before the law is a fallacy. You only have to look at the disparity in the rates of conviction and incarceration between blacks and whites.
The notion that even Presidents must be treated equally before the law was exploded when Gerald Ford pardoned Richard Nixon. Here is Ford's justification for the pardon: "I simply was not convinced that the country wanted to see an ex-president behind bars. We are not a vengeful people; forgiveness is one of the roots of the American tradition." Ford was wrong. America and the world needed the example of a President behind bars.
Fiat justitia ruat cælum? Pffft.
The nation is already paying for the destruction caused by Republican politics. It's not just the matter of a most unqualified president being elected, it is how he was elected and how he is being kept and protected in office.
The GOP destroy our political discourse by propagating lies and untruth as norms. Words are made meaningless, rules irrelevant, values dismissed. The only thing that matter is winning for the party.
They have made the Republican electorate drunken with the belief that their opinions are factual and sacred despite the reality.
The GOP is destroying our democracy and our country by the destroying the means by which we rectify mistakes and the check and balances of power enshrined within our constitution.
So the problem here is not Trump but the GOP. With President Mike Pence, it would actually be worse because Pence would be more effective in the devil dealing.
I do hope Mueller is successful. But even then we still lose because WHATEVER evidences he present, half the country will not believe him.
It's ironic that while we have the freedom to speak, the GOP have destroyed speech itself. The nation is already paying even when Trump does not fire Mueller.
102
Very well put.
1
This opinion piece leads to nowhere. I was expecting to learn how "The Nation Will Pay" and I did not see the price tag. Is it limited to "discredit the country"? Discredit the country how and in whose eyes? And why would it matter in practical terms? If this is the only cost, the risk of it happening increases considerably. I keep hearing about a "constitutional crisis" if Mueller were fired. No one defines its specific attributes so it remains a fuzzy concept. Just as well, because at least two former US Attorneys have outlined on TV perfectly legal ways in which Trump could terminate the Special Counsel activity. The implication to be drawn from this information is that those who want the investigation to take its own course need to implement major and urgent legislative action to protect it, otherwise it may not survive.
8
Actually, there's a good argument for indicting Trump regardless of DOJ guidelines. Aside from impeachment, Trump can't be criminally tried while in office. However, indicting Trump now essentially renders the statue of limitations ineffective. If Trump were to gain a second term in office, he could still be prosecuted for crimes committed before his presidency after his presidency.
That doesn't solve the legal question surrounding pardons. However, I think we can safely assume a self-pardon is even more damaging than firing Mueller. Trump would have to outline the crimes he committed for which he is subsequently pardoned. If Trump's nuclear option is firing Mueller, self-pardon is a doomsday device. As noted, criminally liability isn't entire resolved by pardons anyway.
As for GOP running cover for Trump, that situation is increasingly likely to change in November. The odds of Democrats turning both houses are extremely long but even re-taking the House will make firing Mueller now or later extremely awkward for Trump. Presidential immunity notwithstanding, Trump is going to be absolutely buried in legal trouble for the remainder of his term.
Throw in Trump's personal liability concerning defamation and other issues, he's probably going to be buried in legality for the remainder of his life. I doubt there's any way for Trump to "win" this game.
10
Can you imagine what the historians would write about the only President to ever pardon himself? And he, being so innocent!
Agreed, Nicholas, that this is about what kind of nation we want to be.
However, my cynical old brain is naggingly telling me that the United States of America never has been the nation that was advertised in the brochure, never was the nation the high-sounding language of the Constitution implied. There are many, MANY who, in fact, have no interest in being a nation of laws, who would quite gladly support a suspension of elections in 2018 or 2020, who would quite happily go along with the jailing or even shooting of the protesters who've promised to hit the streets in the event of Mueller or Rosenstein's firing. And not all of them are the oligarchs whose version of the nation is a libertarian money-printing machine for them and destitution for everyone else--too many are those who are or would be destitute, who can't see they've been conned and manipulated and divided-and-conquered.
People attempt to comfort me by saying that American institutions and checks and balances are robust, that they've saved us before and they'll save us again, that "it can't happen here". Thinking of Germany, and Italy, and now the Philippines, and Hungary, and Poland, I wish I found that line of thought more comforting. But given that I suspect that Trump is not above pulling an Achtung if he feels threatened enough . . .
22
Indeed sir, this is about America. That DT acts/has acted like a mob boss says it all; we don't want "bosses" running the government. We want men and women of good will, and the competence to go with it.
I always thought his stiffing contractors would make him lose the election among the working class, but I was wrong. Too many working stiffs were ok with that, so long as he beat the "America First" drum. He and his cronies won't be the only ones to rue the day he was elected.
12
Why wouldn't the government fire Mueller and his team of about 50 people (including non-attorneys) for simple lack of productivity? The investigation started in May 2017, nearly a year ago. That's a comparable quantity of time and people to what it took to get Apple, Facebook, and Google up and running as businesses with publicly available products.
If Trump's guilt is obvious, why has more than 50 person-years of effort so far failed to uncover anything compelling? If Trump's guilt is not obvious, why are we paying 50 people who might otherwise be employed productively to dig around for sex tidbits?
2
You are really asking this? Do you not think investigating the involvement of a newly installed president with a hostile foreign leader should be done with the utmost care and attention to detail? YOU have not seen the evidence Mueller’s team has. They are focused on legally uncovering crimes and prosecuting them according to the rule of law, not assuaging the impatience of some guy in Cambridge.
17
Because this investigation is propelled not by the pursuit of justice but by the jet fuel of derangement.
1
Sally: If a president is collaborating with a hostile foreign leader (Putin was in a hotel room with Donald Trump and a Stormy Daniels 12 years ago?), shouldn't we try to figure that out in less than one calendar year? And have him removed from office? This investigation has already consumed roughly 25 percent of a presidential term. "Utmost care and attention to detail" is what you want? So the investigation concludes after 75 percent of the term has gone by and then a slow prosecution phase begins? Meanwhile our government is being led, indirectly, by a hostile foreign leader?
1
In a perverse way the country may become stronger if it witnesses the Courts holding Mr.Trump accountable for his reckless and or unlawful behavior.We are getting an up close lesson in Grand Juries, District Courts,and the working of the Justice Department.Most people feel that the law comes down too hard on them and their friends- this is a lesson that we live with a justice system that works for all.
43
The country may become stronger if it witnesses the FBI and the courts holding all politicians and bureaucrats accountable for reckless and/or unlawful behavior.
Neither politics nor identity of individuals should be considered.
The rules to be considered are simple: One of Sherlock Holmes’ axioms goes something like this: ‘It is a big mistake to theorize before one has data – because one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts.’
31
Somehow I doubt that Republicans in Congress will rally around the idea of "equality before the law." They care more about their jobs, their donors, cutting taxes and ending entitlements. I hope they will at some point stand up for the Constitution, but I don't expect it. I expect them to be craven and spineless, because that's what they've been since Trump came along.
13
Ultimately, the Supreme Court will decide whether Trump can fire Mueller. I suspect the request for and injunction was drafted weeks, or months, ago. In my opinion, the Court will rule for Mueller, should that happen, probably unanimously.
7
from your mouth to G's ears
The Guardian reports about over “300.000” people having pledged to take part in “rapid response” protests in each of the 50 states, and movements, like “Move On” and “March For Truth” having planned “emergency rallies” organised at short notice, should Trump fire Robert Mueller. His heinous attacks on Mueller in recent weeks have been perceived as a direct threat to America’s principle as a nation of rule of law.
The mass protest would also be triggered if Trump moved to replace Rod Rosenstein –another path for firing Mueller– or if Trump pardoned key witnesses in the Russia investigation.
16
Equality before the law? Whose law. Laws have typically been made by the wealthy for the wealthy. By blocking Obama's nominations to the judiciary, McConnell has been able to shepherd 60 new judges, Trump nominees, onto the benches, with over 120 awaiting approval. The net worth of US Senators is typically in multiples of millions, adding up to total senatorial wealth of trillions. What kind of America do we want to live in? What kind of people are we? If I had a guitar, I'd sing it if I could sing!
8
Yes, the nation will pay if Trump fires Mueller, but the world will also pay. Unchecked presidential power has already led to horrific attacks on several areas of the world, attacks that were not authorized by Congress and therefore were illegal acts of war. If Trump fires Mueller and impedes the investigation, the unchecked power of the executive will only be exacerbated. How many wars must we engage in before we learn our lessons and reinstate the checks and balances we pride ourselves as having? How many of us watch in horror as our government defers to leaders who engage in practices that destroy not only American lives but the lives of other peoples as well?
14
I was watching television yesterday (CNN, I think), when one of the commenters said something to the effect that if Trump fires Mueller there will be rioting in the streets. I really hope there would be outrage, but I doubt that would happen. I do know this, though -- I have not marched on Washington since the 1980s, but if Trump fires Mueller, I will be marching.
48
Me too
1
And so will I and everyone I know.
We’re gonna shut the country down.
1
" some point Trump will fire Robert Mueller, directly or indirectly, or curb his investigation"
Trump will go the indirect route. Trump with the help of the right wing press (Fox primarily) will fabricate some outrage over Rosenstein's actions, that will lend credence for his rationale for dismissing him. In his place he will deposit a Trump man, still plenty to go around, that will carry out his plan. The average Trump voter will cheer this and believe it is part of Trump's never ending mission of draining the swamp and exposing the dark state.
23
Mr Kristof
Believing in the power of justice in America is tantamount to depending upon horseshoes and four-leaf clovers to guarantee success in life.
When you see how ordinary Americans tolerate on a daily basis huge swaths of homelessness on the edge of prosperous metropolises and young graduates saddled with extortionate tuition debt-- just to name two examples of banal injustice in America -- it is next to impossible to have any faith in the System anymore.
My hunch is that the lack of alacrity to prosecute Trump and his cohorts is surely linked to the whole chain of unknown guilty parties who are doing the maximum to make sure that they do not endure prosecution because they are simply 'too big' to fall.
47
Homelessness and student debt are not apt analogies to the issues stated in this article.
While those things are unfair, this article is about how our country has the ideal of being a nation of laws. The rule of law takes precedence over politics and it should take precedence.
If there's crimes committed, they should be investigated and prosecuted.
No one is above the law.
49
The argument you are dismissing has merit. It applies directly to the rule of law that such legal rules directly place some "above" others. As such, how can "no one be above the law" if that same legal system is rigged to favor the rich.
Democrats will pay if Mueller finds no crimes by Trump, which looks likely. I'm worried about Democrats' giddiness over the Mueller probe. People have convinced themselves that it'll annul the last election. This makes us look like still not truly accepting an election result. That's a Trumpian thing to do.
6
Not accepting an election loss, and stopping at nothing to avoid one, is the Republican thing to do. Slick Willie got impeached, John Kerry got Swiftboated, and Obama got a total lack of cooperation as he tried to reverse what dubya left him.
Republicans now play by these rules and are horrified and outraged when Democrats fight back; actually, they are horrified and outraged about matters they invent to be horrified and outraged about, so these emotional states are constant no matter what the other side does.
100
Mueller tasked to find Russian influence in the Trump campaign, not necessarily with Trump's knowledge. And Trump's obstruction of justice, and wherever all this might lead. No feeling that it will annul the last election but perhaps protect the next.
22
Ilia, why is Trump acting so guilty? I suspect Mueller will find something. But, if he doesn't at least the swamp is partly cleared.
2
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, need to send our elected officials a very strong, crystal clear message about what we expect and intend to do if Trump fires Mueller.
My recommendation would be for all American's to undertake a comprehensive nationwide work strike until the special investigation is restored or the President is impeached. For me, there is not a 3rd option. Hopefully, the message would be clear, until you do your job, I will not do my job.
77
You recommend that "all Americans undertake a comprehensive nationwide work strike"......
Assume you have thought through what your recommendation would mean? You mean ALL Americans? Police officers, firefighters, EMTs and paramedics, doctors, nurses, OR techs, sanitation workers, farmers, grocery store employees, bus and truck drivers, train crews, airline pilots and crews, airport employees, restaurant employees, and so on.
You did mean ALL Americans to participate in your hoped-for strike, for the length of time it might take? ALL Americans, for 1 week or 3 weeks or however long your well-thought-out strike might take, right?
Or did you just mean those office dwellers whose lack of presence at work would not impact your comfortable life?
Your message will be clear when you state that you do mean ALL Americans......not just the Americans you know. Do you know any of the Americans who make your life safe/healthy/comfortable/clean/ and so on?
Maybe you don't know any of them........a lot of them voted for Trump.
2
You're right about the militia and tyranny. But let's start with a general strike.
Trump owns the military that will put down a Democratic insurrection.
Let's be clear : the President is not going to pay at all until Democrats have firm control of Congress and can implement impeachment proceedings.
Even then, I am not so sure that they would firmly follow through, ( I can hear: for the sake of the country we need to carry on and heal '' ) or the President might pardon himself and all included. Then a Constitutional crisis of epic proportions would follow and again, I can hear the above coming about.
No, this President is going to do whatever ( especially now that the holy grail of tax cuts to the 1% has been implemented ) and republicans are cutting and running ( as the blue wave approaches ) instead of standing up to him and showing a backbone.
I fear much more can ( even if we get a president Pence ) and will happen before we can correct in the midterms and in 2020.
Buckle in .
41
If the Republican Congress continues its shameful collaboration with Donald Trump, expect the total destruction of the Jeffersonian Democracy and the establishment of the most powerful Banana Republic with thousands of nuclear warheads under the control of mad men itching to enter the code and push the button.
Mr. Trump has brought all of this on himself. There is no doubt. Nevertheless, the investigation clearly has political motivations. Certainly, if Mr. Mueller brings some indictments forward that implicate Mr. Trump, I hope Mr. Trump is subject to all of the penalties the law has for him. Still, the political nature of his disembowelment should give every prospective aspirant to the Oval Office pause. But, knowing the human inclination for power and adulation, the moths will still flock to the flame.
9
What political motivations have been exercised by this investigation? If Mueller finds evidence of criminal behavior, then, yes, every prospective aspirant pause.
9
What “political motivations” might those be, considering that Mueller, Comey, Rosenstein, McCabe, Wray and Sessions are all lifelong Republicans, several of whom were appointed by Trump himself?
If Robert Muller is fired this will tear this national apart.
We already see this happening.
Family members no longer speaking to one another.
A growing divide and hatred between rural and urban, the less educated and more educated and between working class with white collar.
One word sums up our nation’s dysfunctional behavior - tribalism - and one man feeds this tribalism - Donald Trump.
But many can start to reverse the damage caused by Donald Trump.
Yes, we can protest.
But, not the type of protest we saw in the 1960s which in far too much cases of it was violent and counterproductive.
Protest - that is your right, your American right.
But, remember the best form of protest is with a clear head and resolve.
The best resolve is to get out and vote and start tossing out of office all the enablers of tribalism in this country and send a strong message to our irrational tribalist brothers and sisters that hatred solves nothing, absolutely nothing.
95
I think some of those Trump voting farmers in Iowa might be starting to get it.
30
Douglas:
You are quite right. Especially after they are forced to sell their farms to the mega agriculture corporations.
3
"Family members no longer speaking to one another. A growing divide and hatred between rural and urban, the less educated and more educated and between working class with white collar."
.
I would add blue coastal counties versus red inland counties.
11
It's fair to lay a good share of the blame for this presidency at the feet of fellow citizens who cared so little for all of us--themselves included--that they didn't vote in 2016. This November (and May, in primaries), please do try to rectify that.
120
Well, Eric, that's not even half right. I know a young lady who attended Kenyon College (in your neck of the woods, I believe) who had to wait in line several hours to vote in 2008. Voter suppression is real, it's targeted, the techniques are devilishly creative, and it's silently stifling our democracy. So yes, up to a point you're right. But the reality is so much larger.
73
My daughter and several of her friends were denied their vote in Palm Beach County Florida in 2016. They did everything right in registering, showed up to vote and were told they were not on the rolls. I'm sure the Russians got into Palm Beach County. I'll go to my grave angry that my daughter, who I taught to vote and do her civic duty, was denied. Voter suppression is real.
You need to overwhelm them in November. Because there is no doubt that America as we know it , lives or dies with those elections.
1
Kristof is so right about the consequences if Mueller or Rosenstein are obstructed. It is important for us all to be calling our senators and congress to let them know strongly that Mueller and Rosenstein need to be protected and most importantly we are a country that believes in the rule of law.
89
The biggest indicator of a Trump voter last year was their answers to questions that indicated they were authoritarians. I can't help but wonder if Trump firing Mueller would then their stomachs? It would be a direct assault on the rule of law and surely, authoritarians, of all people, would be revolted by that? That would leave him with just the cultists.
1
When Trump's advisors at Fox News convince him to fire Mueller, they will hasten the destruction of the monster they helped to create.
1
I fully agree with Mr. Kristoff's point about the country suffering if Trump fires Mueller, though I doubt Trump does. But about those last two sentences. "This is about the kind of nation we live in, and whether we aim to be a nation of citizens equal before the law. This is about America."
Exceptionalism is wearing a little thin these days, don't you think?
38
Yes, you're right. Exceptionalism is a delicate structure built painstakingly piece by piece but easily brought down.
Nonetheless, I agree with Kristoff's sentiment. Better an America that strives to rebuild that delicate structure than one that just gives up.
15
Oh, we're very exceptional, all right.
We have an exceptional epidemic of opioid addiction and tens of thousands of overdoses; and instead of owning up to the pharmaceutical industry and physicians who inundated the country with prescription pain meds, we blame 'bad hombres' for our ills.
We have an exceptional epidemic of gun violence and are awash in guns like no other 'advanced' nation on earth; and we still listen to lunatics who say more guns and ammo is the solution, like deeper water is the solution to drowning, a can of gasoline to put out a roaring fire.
We have an exceptionally expensive and inequitable health care system, which leaves all but the wealthiest vulnerable to bankruptcy in the event of a major accident or illness; and our majority political party thinks the solution is to destroy the only effort we've ever taken to rectify the problem, without any idea of a viable alternative.
I could go on enumerating our many 'exceptional' qualities, but gosh, I'm so tired of winning, I'm thoroughly exhausted.
299
I heard Jimmy Carter interviewed on NPR today. He certainly wasn’t known as the most dynamic President but he did great work afterwards. He certainly has faith in America, that we as a Nation will do the right thing. I hope that he is right.
27
The outcome of this hypothetical development depends on what happens to the information Mueller has gathered at that point.
Looks to me like the time is approaching for the art of the deal to reach the deal-maker in chief.
Resignation in return for immunity from subsequent prosecution, perhaps? Ala Nixon with Watergate. (With an implied corollary that if such a deal is then refused by Trump and the Congressional Republicans, then voters retain the option to replace Congressional representatives next November with others willing to impeach and remove, and with no immunity from further prosecution post-removal.)
14
Immunity from federal prosecution maybe, but not from state prosecution... The NYS investigations into Trump’s financial dealings began long before he became president, under Preet Bharara.
6
I suspect the resignation for a pardon thing is Pence's plan. Why else would a man such as he, who's own wife was privately heard to say she finds Trump 'revolting" and "stomach churning", prepared to lie so bracingly in Trumps favour?
If Trump does go, you'll need to really watch that one. The sincerity with which he lies is very concerning. That face he paints is a living mask, indicative of man aware he is perpetually acting. Or worse.
Trump has a lifetime of fraud, civil rights violations, racketeering, sexual assaults, et al. I sincerely hope that he is removed from office, but it will be a tragic aberration of justice if he is never called to account for 50 years of crime
If there's one phrase that sums up our ethos for elected leaders, it is: No one is above the law in this country. Period. The sooner Trump and his Republican enablers understand that, the better. Whatever the outcome.
60
I pray that this proves true, and the sooner the better.
Ken---you are in dreamland. All the top people are above the law and have been for decades. Most especially the politicians.
1
Everybody is telling Trump that it's the end of his presidency if he fires Mueller, but he's busy calculating if he can stay out of prison by *sacrificing* his presidency.
Really the only good ending to this is Trump and his sons (and son-in-law) wearing orange jump suits, with the entire Trump fortune in the U.S. Treasury coffers to pay for tax evasion.
150
I'd be more than satisfied just to get Trump out of the White House. If that means there's a deal to keep him out of jail, so be it. Pence would probably pardon him anyway, just as Ford pardoned Nixon.
Trump does not care what his actions do to the country - He only cares about himself. He will do whatever it takes to keep his crimes secret, including giving up the presidency - He never wanted the job anyway.
2
Actually, a flight out of the country would be a good ending also.
1
Nicholas, the nation has already paid dearly for the election of Donald Trump, in national prestige, trustworthiness, and example.
I've read far too many comments here from NYT readers abroad who are aghast at how quickly the United States seems to be self-immolating.
So, yes, the nation will bear an additional burden if Trump fires Mueller and he pays no price.
After all, paying no price is the story of his life; his current fury is the howl of a 71-year old child who, for finally appears poised to be sent to the woodshed for the very first time.
Actually, I'd go one step further and make this prediction: Not just this country but the entire world will pay a price, in witnessing the death throes of the oldest modern democracy, one long admired and emulated.
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Amen to that, Christine. Esp. your 2nd and your last paragraphs here. For this European, it´s been like watching a revered and dearly loved distant cousin have a long-lasting, malignant psychotic break. Thru´2017 I was thinking: "America has given the world sooo much - not just political ideals, but within science, technology, literature, music, film, indeed, most of the stuff that makes modern life good - and now it´s come to this?? With the apparent support of the public?" Reading the articles and esp. the comments in NYT, has been a ray of hope and a reminder that most Americans continue to as admirable and sensible as I´ve always believed. I don´t express myself in writing half as well as you do, but I hope y´all understand what I mean!
11
This comment is terrifyingly correct. The moral leverage and impact of our democracy has been (past tense) squandered by this wretch. I have spent much time overseas recently in troubled countries, and their desperate people look with hollow eyes to the USA, and no one is home. Yes, you are right: it is the world, not just us, that will pay the price of this monstrous golem.
10
"Equality under the law" is a fine and noble goal but not one our nation comes close to attaining. Trump's perfidy, which is plain for all to see, is the ultimate test case. Will our system prevail or will we learn that Trump, supported by his party, is not subject to the rule of law?
38
There are three books published after WWII that came to mind earlier, read in childhood in France, 'The Diary of Anne Frank', 'The Lion' by Joseph Kessel and one by his uncle, who wrote 'Titsou', the Boy with The Green Thumbs.
War, Nature, and The Children of this World, all linked. One day a book may be written about the tragedy of Trump and how he nearly took America down with him.
The Nation is paying already for having elected this President to be The Leader of Democracy, and it can not function thus without The Truth.
Trump can fire Mueller, and tend in his resignation. It is unprecedented, but there is no other Nation so young and multi-cultured with such hope as America.
It is no longer about Trump but what it takes to be an American, and I believe my Country will do right, if only to avert War, give attention to Climate Change and offer a safe haven for The Children.
21
We need to hold to this...
1
‘Trump says he’s the victim of a “witch hunt,” but it’s actually a “criminal hunt” — one presided over by Republicans’.
Thank you for pointing that out. It’s tempting to bash ALL Republicans, and I certainly think they could make better choices in the voting booth. But it’s worth remembering that Mueller’s team, the Justice Dept, and the FBI include many solid professionals who happen to vote Republican but are nonetheless committed to the rule of law.
Elected Republicans, on the other hand, often seem to be a different breed. I’ve no words to express my disgust with Trump’s enablers in the House and Senate. They have no honor.
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Even if Trump were to fire Mueller, and there is currently a 69% disapproval of the idea; the larger question remains if the memory of such outrage could be carried through November. Given the very short-term memory of the electorate, and the continued bombast that hurls daily from the White House, it may well be wishful thinking to assume Mueller's firing (if accomplished) would translate into meaningful political opposition.
39
If Democrats, especially young people, show up to vote in big numbers in the mid-terms, the House can be turned. But if they don't, the 90% of Republicans who already support Trump will vote back in the same Trump apologists we have now, although they will feel safer after being re-elected and they'll let Trump do whatever he wants.
If Dems don't show up to vote, we have no one to blame but ourselves.
36
Silly stuff Patrick, the voters will have endless massive demonstrations to remind themselves of the firing, should he do so, before November
5
Are you kidding? The Trump presidency has awakened and galvanized the 60% of the electorate that did nothing to put this figure in office. Trump cannot actively interfere with this election at risk of impeachment or further judicial proceedings and as an giant albatross for the GOP moving forward.
There is no risk that voters will forget their revulsion or miss taking the singular opportunity at the polls to respond with unprecedented outrage. Every bombastic shot across the bow, far from unsteadying the opposition who are used to the circus by now, cements the determination to vote Trump and his GOP enablers out of a job. Maybe ten years ago, your proposition might have born out, but not today, not in this post-2016 world.
9
I agree with Kristof and others here calling for a march if Mueller is fired. But we best be prepared not for just a march but for a siege. The power structure will look the other way for a day or two, after which they assume we will all go home and they can return to making money hand over fist as usual. It will take weeks, maybe months, to cost them enough to be taken seriously.
77
A single days nationwide strike would cost billions. To the people that donate to your representatives. That, with the threat of another would do wonders for congress thinking.
2
Stealing money, hand over fist, is the more apt description I think.
What is needed is a general strike.
The constitutional crisis does not come from Trump firing (directly or indirectly) Robert Mueller. The constitutional crisis arrives when the majority of Republicans refuse to hold Trump to account and prevent his obstruction of justice. Once this happens, there is no longer a check on executive power and our nation's democracy will be greatly damaged. There will be riots in the streets.
461
I dunno, by my count the Republicans already are not holding Trump to account,
There is no longer any check on the Executive Branch and
Our nation's democracy is well and truly damaged.
What time do the riots start?
14
Thank goodness the government has not tried to confiscate our guns, or put any additional restrictions on guns or gun ownership at all, in case we need these weapons to defend ourselves against a possible government/military takeover of the country, quite possibly signaled by this imminent constitutional crisis. Gun owners, Trump, the GOP, and the NRA must all really be breathing sighs of relief?
1
The main problem will be the armed Trump supporters who will stand with Trump against the protesters at rallies against Trump. As he said he could shoot someone & kill them & not lose any supporters. They will use their NRA rights & guns to defend Trump in a takeover. He ranks higher than Jesus & God in their minds.
The only thing that saved us from Nixon's corruption were a small number of principled Republicans. It wouldn't take many: a couple of dozen in the House and a handful in the Senate. I fear that it is unlikely that too many exist - at the moment.
So: Do Something About It! Contribute to every Democratic Senatorial candidate who might win - there are many, even in this challenging year for the Senate Dems. Help every Democratic House candidate you can, by whatever time and contributions you can afford.
And most importantly, for you and yours: Vote!
315
It also can't hurt to tell your Republican representatives how you feel.
Find your Federal Congressperson's contact info here: https://www.congress.gov/members
1
I fear it’s only a matter of time until we find The Limit. Trump focuses on himself, not the country, and this misalignment will continue to creat more extreme events that fly in the face of tradition, decorum, the law. Will Mueller’s firing be the event that finally pushes Congress to say, “No More”? Perhaps. If it isn’t , there will surely be another event following closely behind. The catastrophe is the damage we are allowing to be done to our values and our standing in the world
99
Trump will pay no price for firing Mueller -- except (I hope) in the polls this November. The problem is that the GOP shields Trump. As far as I can tell, Republican officeholders fall into three categories:
1 -- Those who admire Trump and approve of his actions.
2 -- Those who are indifferent to Trump's actions because they simply don't care.
3 -- Those who do care about Trump's crimes but are too spineless even to speak up, much less to take action.
We should not be looking to the Republican Party for decency or patriotism.
139
The Senate is about to vote on an amendment that will give Mueller and future special prosecutors the ability to sue, were they to be fired.
The prevalent view among legal experts is that the only way Trump can fire Mueller is by first repealing, by executive order, the law that prevents him from firing Mueller and then firing him - or - firing Rod Rosenstein and then appointing a shill who will severely curtain Mueller's ability to do his job. In the first instance, Congress would immediately investigate the grounds under which Mueller was dismissed. Mueller, during such an investigation, would continue his work. In the second instance, there wouldn't be much anyone can do, except block any Trump nominees to replace Rosenstein.
Mueller will get to finish the job he started last year, one way or another. The question we should ask ourselves is, other than Trump, close advisers, members of his family, who else will be taken down in the Mueller investigation? I will make two predictions here:
If Pence gpes down with Trump as I think he will, due to his own connections to moneyed interests and possible acts committed during the transition, we will be left with an interesting outcome.
My second prediction is that Nancy Pelosi may very well become president in the event of an impeachment and the implication of the second person in line for the presidency.
---
https://www.rimaregas.com/2018/01/07/politicos-running-list-of-what-trum...
47
president pelosi!!! i can just see the collection of repubs twisting and convulsing like a bunch of nudibranchs on the sea floor
1
Although it is quite casual, I have been following the columnist for some length of time. I found the last paragraph of this piece the most poignant among all. Again, my reading habit is sporadic on a very embarrassing level. But, there is a piercing force in what is stated there. Thank you.
32
Mueller will be fired, because it is now the only way for Trump to avoid prison. Kristof tells us the legality of firing Mueller is “debatable,” and that will be cover enough for Trump. Once Trump does it, don’t count on a hue and cry from those 2/3rds of Republicans supposedly against Mueller’s firing. For Republicans the highest and best use of government is sticking it to the Democrats.
88
Unfortunately, if Trump were to fire Mueller, it would be more than "sticking it to the Democrats". It would be the action of someone with the ambition of a dictator.
Remember how much Trump liked that the Chinese leader has a life-time position?
For now, whether Mueller is fired or not takes backseat to what is happening in Syria. Will we have a direct confrontation with Russia due to the reckless actions of the US President. World War III anyone?
If the GOP lets him get away with firing Mueller, many of them will not survive the next election. Hopefully they won’t let him throw them under the bus like he has done to so many others including his own son.
23
No, the nation will pay dearly if this outrageous witch hunt is not stopped and leads to impeachment of a popularly elected president. It is already abundantly clear that there was no "collusion". Having failed to find any evidence of that, Mueller is no fishing for any dirt at all in personal and business dealings of Trump. That is far outside of his mandate and someone needs to step in and stop him. If it is not the Congress or the courts, then Trump himself must terminate this travesty.
10
Trump was not popularly elected. He lost by millions of votes. The wide majority of Americans support Mueller according to polls (such as the one cited in this article).
288
Collusion is not a legal term. It means plotting to do something shady. I don't see that it's "abundantly clear" that didn't happen. To the contrary.
No one, including Trump himself, thought he's win the election. And it wasn't a popular vote victory. Less than 100,000 votes spread across three swing states tipped the electoral college. Trump was legally elected president, but that's all you can say.
I don't think impeachment is the answer. I also doubt that the Mueller investigation will lead to impeachment.
Impeachment is a political process and it's possible that Trump will go over the edge and forfeit his political influence among Republicans. That doesn't seem to be happening and I doubt that even charges of obstruction of justice will change minds loyal to Trump.
6
Yes, but 90% of Republicans still support Trump. That's a big problem.
1
"If Trump were to recklessly end an investigation into whether he is obstructing justice, that would seem prima facie evidence of obstruction of justice."
So obvious. Except to the oblivious.
232
One of the most baffling and unfortunate lessons from this catastrophe is that public breaches of both law and decorum are ignored (after much cable news analysis) because they are done in public. Firing Comey was no less obstruction of justice than firing Mueller will be.
2
Yes. And it's as if numbingly predictable angry sophomoric - demonstrably false or ridiculous - outbursts and constant "twitter bully tantrums" are "my right to free speech" - regardless my normally caution-inducing bully pulpit position, nor my oath of said position's office regarding that afterthought Constitution. So you (when you are The Imperial Donald) think you are naturally allowed to ramble and rattle on with your usually fractured and often outrageously fracturing musings as if nobody but your slobbering, willfully ignorant base is actually listening (the "obvious vs oblivious" part of this whole mess - IMO).
Trump fire Mueller? That's yesterday's news. Today's news involves openly threatening Russia with war; declaring a missile strike via tweet; and the most prominent Republican not named Trump showing us the true meaning of the word "resignation". Maybe tomorrow he'll fire Mueller, and then we'll talk about that. Can I get off the ride now?
31
Trump isn't threatening Russia. He is warning them. He did the same last year when he called to warn them to get out before firing the missiles - remember?
I can't believe I am writing this, but the President of the United States tweeted the following: "Russia vows to shoot down any and all missiles fired at Syria. Get ready Russia, because they will be coming, nice and new and “smart!”"
How is "get ready, because missiles are coming" not a threat?
... and following up the "our missiles are newer and smarter" tweet an hour later with a "why can't we all just get along" tweet. At first I thought he was just an American version of Mussolini, not quite as bright or competent as the Italian orginal. Now I see that was wrong. What we have instead is our very own Nero. I fear its going to take this country having a calamity to rid us of him and his influence.
For Trump, there is nothing and no one more important than himself. If that means getting Mueller fired and making our country an even bigger laughingstock in the international community, then so be it. As president, Trump has had a "reverse Midas touch": everything he touches that's gold (environmental regulations, Dreamer protections, transgender soldiers honorably serving in the military) turns to rust. May his comeuppance in the form of a criminal indictment for treason or campaign fraud be served to him on a platter engraved with the name "Stormy"...
72
I do not believe that there are any Republicans begging him not to go there. At most that is lip service to the press by the collaborators.
No one should think the republicans will actually do anything if Trump takes action and fires Rosenstein so the next in line can fire Mueller.
Ryan the rat is deserting the ship and the rest are terrified of Trump's base so they will not say a word. Mark my words.
29
Your second paragraph describes what seems the most likely path for the President to take in order to cleanse the air so he may continue on his merry way.
It's interesting that the press have noticed the lack of a good technical understanding (not to say I'm any more educated in the matter) of what Facebook is and does which leads to another question - How much do they, especially the more vintage members of the Senate, really understand about cyber security, email, servers and the vulnerabilities to our private, public and work related communications?
The flash mob of GOP'ers heading for the exits may be just as much about their own fear of what the hacker(s) establishment may have on them. Everyone with a grain of sense knows that the GOP was hacked at the same time as the Democrats.
11
I’ve never marched or protested anything before. If Trump fires Mueller, I will have reached my breaking point and will join hundreds of thousands of my fellow citizens in DC and will shut that city down until justice is done. This is bigger than any one person.
493
I have ambivalent feelings about this. Both the gatherings of women and the anti-gun protests were peaceful and positive. Somehow this feels quite different to me.
4
General strike.
Never mind shutting down D.C.
We will need to shut down this country as a whole. As many times as it takes. For as long as it takes.
14
That's a delicious thought, and would certainly have more impact than stopping traffic for a day, which impacts the people trying to get home from work more than anyone. If the government can shut down rather than agree to a budget, the populace can do the same.
To Betsy: Any protest march that is 'positive' is worthless. Protest is anger in action, the threat of throwing the bums out of office, the underlying threat of possible violence if the anger isn't mitigated. It involves the decision to give up something big if necessary: Physical safety or even one's life at worst, one's current and future livelihood in the case of striking. Real protest is real risk, which is why it has real impact. It's also why it doesn't happen very often.
Too many people, too much of the time, focus on the unstable and unfit current occupant of the White House. The problem for American politics, society, and democracy is that Trump's election and the current Republican hold on Congress were neither simply an expression of the people's will, nor mainly the result of hostile Russian interference in America's political processes. A few billionaires and corporations have disproportionate power and a stranglehold on policies. The Mercers and Kochs can, and do, put in place the political instruments to gut social services for the poor and middle class along with health, consumer, financial, and environmental protections, and cut taxes for themselves. Trump is a particularly mad, bad, and dangerous example of what is wrong with American politics. But the power of the oligarchs must be broken for American democracy to be truly by or for the people.
452
You are correct: Trump is the side show, the Republicans are the puppets, but underneath is the power of a few to dominate politics via influence over voters, and more directly, over elected officials who owe them for bankrolling their campaigns.
If we do not overhaul campaign financing, and reduce the control of the oligarchs of our own country, democratic government will be eaten away.
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You are correct, Hari. One need look at state and local affairs to see the full power of their interference with democratic process.
13
You are correct Hari. We have for all practical purposes become an oligarchy. It really is time to decide if that's the kind of country want to live in.
14
I'll be joining David, but instead of demonstrating in Seattle, I'll be demonstrating in the nation's capitol (living not far from there). trump will witness crowds bigger than even his bloated inauguration day fantasies.
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"This isn't just about Trump, and it's not just about sex or hush money or even just about collusion or obstruction of justice." It's also about a major political party abandoning all of it's previous positions, from fiscal responsibility to regular order, from sober judgement to the dignity of our highest offices, from good governance to earned leadership. All of it thrown away for a hack vaudevillian whose act rivals the horrors found in the famous "aristocrats" joke. It's about religious people who have decided that this morally corrupt creature is worthy of their respect and forgiveness simply because he gives lip service to ending abortion. It's about a propaganda machine that churns out lies, distortions and fake news that rivals state run TV in Russia and N. Korea. It's about racist, bigots and outright Nazis being given the green light to spread hate and fear with the acquiescence of the White House. But mostly, it's about 40% of my fellow citizens willing to turn a blind eye to what's happened to our politics, our culture and our history as long as the candidate has an "R" after their name. I don't have as much faith in the future as you do Mr. Kristoff because, this isn't about Trump's legal problems, "This is about America"
167
Thank you Rick, your comment says it all.
2
With luck (& perhaps prayer), the aging demographic that makes up a large portion of the FOX News/el Rushbo crowd will allow for some degree of optimism for the future. There still will be the "like father, like son" at play, but again with luck, prayer, and a major overhaul of our public education system (in a good way, not the Betsey way), that psychological effect can be at least modestly countered (which may be all we need).
1
it's incredibly naive to think that equality before the law is an American value.
23
EQUALITY BEFORE the LAW is a value we hold and a principle we skirt too often.
1
Don't be naive. The reality is that there has always been a law for the rich and a law for the poor. If you are rich enough you can afford a better lawyer which will affect how you do in the courtroom. We've seen it time and time again with white collar crimes in particular. Trump is a prime example. How many times has he been sued? How many times has he gotten away with fraud and outright theft? That's why he believes he can do pretty much what he wants and now he is in the most powerful position in the most powerful country in the world. This is the worst of all cases. If he is allowed to get off "scott free", assuming criminal charges are brought, there will no trust left in this country for the rule of law.
67
Now that's sure to change Trump's thinking: "nation before Trump!"
Fat chance.
Our nation should get ready to pay regardless. He's going to destroy us. Or do his best to.
10
The nation we live in is one in which a rabid minority doesn't care what Trump has done. In fact, they relish his bad behavior; the angrier he makes "elites" and "experts," the happier they are. The country we live in has a political party that caters to racists, Evangelicals, and oligarchs. When (not if) Trump fires Mueller, that political party, a.k.a. the GOP, will not care.
We can demonstrate and you and your colleagues that don't work at FOX or Sinclair can write editorials, but it won't matter. IF we have free and fair elections in November, we may be able to slow down the demise of the country, but it's already in a death spiral thanks to the GOP.
35
I am beginning to get that creeping, urgent feeling again that the Trump train is approaching the last stages of its "legitimacy."
14
But we have been paying so very dearly for over a year already...
12
Mr. Kristof,
If you believe your words will have any effect on Republicans controlling Congress, think again. They are terrified of Trump voters. Trump may do exactly as he pleases about firing Mueller, and his supporters will have absolutely no objection. Congressional Republicans know this, and this is exactly why they continue to cower. We've heard of one or two half-hearted "bipartisan" bills supporting Mr. Mueller, but the Republican leadership will never let these bills see daylight, much less pass.
Of course firing Mr. Mueller would be enormously damaging to our nation. History will mark it as the turning point when we were no longer a nation of laws, but a dictatorship. And we're being ruled by a dictator who is a madman, at that.
But understand that the forty percent who support this disgusting, unfit man continue to hold the power in this country. For those who believe the Democrats will sweep Congress in the November elections, take a good hard look at the electoral map. Oh, Dems will most certainly pick up some seats, but they will by no means have any power to check this president.
We have this Constitutional crisis for only one reason - Trump voters. They're still in lockstep with him. None of his disgusting actions since taking office have lessened their support. And so the U.S. is now a dictatorship, created by a rabid minority who have forced it on the the rest of us. We need to be in the streets, en masse, now, before our voices are silenced.
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We need to consider that people make decisions based upon the information they receive. With FOX, Sinclair Broadcasting, Murdock, and Russia on the internet; all spewing a grossly distorted picture, in markets where they own all media outlets, we can't really expect different results. They are organized to support an oligarchy. We need to force a breakup of all organizations who own multi media outlets, thus controlling the news people hear. Every market needs to hear multiple opinions.
8
Yet still there is no visible action from the congress and others of our political leaders to condemn Trump's behavior. Why?
16
Because the majority of them are bought and sold by big money. That's the simple answer.
2
Nick, Trump will do the most stupid thing possible, in any circumstances. That's his Superpower. Let him fire everyone. Let him seethe with rage, and descend even further into self delusion. The GOP will get their long deserved thrashing, Bigly. Live by the Trump, DIE by the Trump.
Thanks, GOP. See you in November.
25
Trump would have fired Mueller long ago if that had been his plan. Apparently it wasn't and he must have sensed that it would have led to impeachment proceedings. Whatever the motive for his inaction, he seems to want to remain president. Mueller's investigation will either yield indictable offenses or it won't. Regardless, the institution of the presidency that Trump is testing is holding up fine. That's a win in my book.
5
It was reported yesterday that Trump gave the order to fire Mueller in December. That is the second time, the first time being in the summer when only Don McGan threatening to quit as WH Counsel stopped him.
I do not share your optimism about Trumps senses. Firing Mueller led directly to a special counsel investigating him for obstruction of justice. His response so far has been the order to fire that special counsel. Twice. The man is uneducable.
2
Firing Mueller actually was his plan until he was dissuaded. But, your last point, that Trump is "testing" the presidency by by apparently breaking laws and overtly acting like a buffoon, is just whacky.
2
Equality to oppressor feels like oppression.
4
I plan to drop everything and be at a local March if Mueller is fired.
50
Trump may or may not fire Mueller – but if he does now, it would be a political mistake. He should have fired BOTH Rosenstein AND Mueller as soon as the authorizing letter went out empowering Mueller to investigate anything Mueller saw fit to examine about Trump, including whether he trims his toenails often enough. This was bound to become what it HAS become – not determining if there had been cahooting by Trump and his closest people with Russians to affect our 2016 presidential election, but what has become a politically motivated witch hunt looking into matters that are far more appropriate to state and large-city attorneys general and prosecutors – or to nobody at all.
If Trump had fired Mueller and Rosenstein at the outset, he could have directed Sessions, in the absence of a deputy AG, to lift his recusal and re-authorize a “special counsel”, perhaps Mueller, to stick to matters directly related to alleged Russian cahooting. Not having done that, he now is paying a very high price for choking.
Nick argues for equality before the law, but that’s not what Trump is being granted. Mueller threatens a microscopic look at Trump’s entire life, arguing that it all could conceivably be related to Russian cahooting, however tenuous any such connection argument might be. We don’t subject alleged Mafia dons to that kind of scrutiny – and we don’t raid their lawyers’ offices to fish for evidence of wrongdoing.
Mueller’s investigation cedes inappropriate authority to a cop.
4
There's no evidence to support your assertion that Mueller's investigation is politically motivated. Mueller is a Republican whose integrity is highly respected by those who have worked closely worked with him.
88
If Mafia dons were stupid enough to task their attorneys with brokering payoffs as hush money, you bet the FBI would raid said lawyers’ offices. In a heartbeat. But mafia dons are smarter than this president. And their lawyers are clearly smarter than this lawyer.
82
Inasmuch as Richard is merely repeating one of his lame, exculpatory tropes from just yesterday, I'll repeat one of my own responses: If a cop is uncertain as to whether you've robbed a bank but discovers that you killed someone on the way over there, do you really expect that he/she will simply forget about it? An officer of the law is obliged to follow up on any leads that may result in a finding of criminal activity or to refer that lead to another officer of the law. That's what Mueller is doing here, and he'd be delinquent in his obligations if he turned a blind eye to any illegal activity. If Trump didn't want to open up his entire life to public scrutiny (subject to the statute of limitations) he should have stuck to his dog-and-pony show on NBC and left the presidency to Americans- or even Kenyans- who have some idea as to what the job entails.
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A big risk for Trump is that courts might reverse any termination of Mueller, in which case he would have little choice but to resign.
14
I think the case for Mueller would be stronger if he stayed to the original purpose of the investigation. By going beyond it, he has taken himself to Trump's level or somewhat lower, and invited retaliation.
6
It is the job of a special prosecutor to follow any and all possible violations of the law that become visible through thorough investigative work . Many times those violations not connected to the original mandate can show behaviors that may back up the very criminal activity the prosecutor is trying to expose . Just because it troubles you that Trump has a backlog of uninvestigated activity that now has a magnifying glass over it is no reason to avoid the rule of law. Were you as upset when Republicans spent 56 million in1994 investigating a land deal in Arkansas that the Clintons were involved in in the 1980s ? Probably not , yet the investigation was as legitimate as Mueller’s is now, but I
would say that Mueller’s mission is the most important in the last 100 years for a special prosecutor.
63
Speaking as someone who was an investigator -- (I investigated crooked judges for the California Commission on Judicial Performance) -- I can tell you that often an investigation would begin with a single alleged bit of wrongdoing, but along the way many other bits would come to light. What is an investigator supposed to do? Turn a blind eye to crime? If a police officer stops a car for speeding, is the officer supposed to ignore the bricks of heroin he sees on the back seat?
4
How on earth do you know what Mr. Mueller knows and therefore what is relevant to the purpose of his investigation?
4
Someone should run this argument past Trump:
Only Trump knows exactly how much criminal activity he has been involved with, but it looks like it may have been a lot. He seems at least potentially to be at serious risk of losing his job, his fortune, and perhaps even his freedom. Firing Mueller and others, pushing his power to pardon to the limit, and spinning the truth until it is shredded to tatters will likely not be enough to change this. It is quite possible that the best option remaining to Trump is something like a plea deal, and also that Mueller may be the only one who could accept such a plea.
The general outline of such a deal would be as follows: Trump steps down, but with an upper limit on the fines he might pay, and no threat of prison. In return, he gives a full account of all crimes that took place, particularly any involving foreign involvement in the election, and any blackmail or other pressure imposed upon him.
The benefits of such a deal are many. We would avoid a constitutional crisis that could potentially rise to the level of a war of our own government against itself. By gaining a full understanding of all that went wrong and why, we would have the best chance of making sure it never happens again. And finally, this effort at a kind of Truth and Reconciliation could be our best chance to heal some of the wounds that have so split our nation, and to avoid the kind of conflict that could tear our country apart.
25
It's grossly unwise to try to make a deal with a grifter. Before the ink (if any) on the deal is dry, the grifter will simply say that it's invalid or unfair or etc, and immediately do whatever he pleases.
A deal-maker makes deals; he doesn't necessarily stand by them.
1
Joel S, your idea has logic, but, Trump does not know that definition. The very thought of him admitting ANY wrongdoing is hilarious...never, never going to happen, no matter how much
documentation there is. Sadly!
2
Mueller was a genius in transferring the Cohen investigation to federal court in Manhattan, and in filing some indictments in state courts to preclude presidential pardons. Whatever happens with Mueller, the investigation will live on, and the Trump and cohorts files are out there now.
95
I'm not sure I follow. Doesn't the presidential pardon power extend to state convictions? Maybe I'm wrong -- but I think it does.
No, it does not extend to state convictions.
Sadly, President Trump has been so shielded from consequences throughout his life - by his father, by his wealth, by his ability to pay people off and pay fines, by powerful friends that have forgiven tax debts in dire circumstances (thanks Chris Christie!), and by shear luck - that he has no normal sense of cause and effect.
And his resulting confidence and in-your-face bravado delight his base, much as a pro-wrestling character inspires fandom.
However, the laws of physics do apply to him, and, if we are fortunate, the laws of the United States as well (if Prosecutor Mueller and Republican Congresspersons show a modicum of respect for our institutions and fealty to the Constitution).
Whether it is the formal Herodotus: "It is the gods' custom to bring low all things of surpassing greatness." or the immortal Jimmy Cliff's retelling of Jersey Joe Walcott's "The bigger they come, the harder they fall", Donald Trump will find that he is not immune from the law.
160
Or Bob Dylan's "You're going have to serve somebody".
That song actually has the line:
"You may be the president of the United States, but you're going to have serve somebody..."
3
I hope you are right that Trump is not immune from the law -- but I fear he is. The main problem is that the Republican Party -- that is, the elected officials who are Republicans -- are indifferent to his crimes, or, at best, spineless.
9
I think Trump thinks he should BE the law. Unfortunately, with the history of our current Congress and Trump's ever-expanding crop of Federal judges, it's an understandable position.
2
Above and beyond any of the spot on points made by Mr Kristof is the single most important factor in all of this drama.
Will republican politicians put country before party?
157
Of course not. They would have done
so by now, and the money they get
from giving tax cuts to the one percent
and corporations is much more
important than country or party.
How they rub our faces in it.
There will have to be a new
cast of characters to make up
the Republican party if it
is to survive. Same with most
of the Democrats, who routinely
put party before country. Here
is to Beto and all the other progressives
who want money out of politics!
16
In short, no. They are bankrupt beyond redemption.
4
McCain will put country over party. Flake will. Probably Sasse and maybe Graham and a couple of other senators and a handful of House members, most of whom have announced their retirement, and perhaps a couple facing incredibly long odds for reelection who will do it out of desperation. The list of those who will put self and party over country will be ten times as large.
2
There is something coldly inhuman about Trump. Even today, on CNN a Twitter picture was shown which Trump posted of himself surrounded by his grinning sycophants in the Oval Office, his fellow Republicans, all following the lead of their leader, thumbs up.
If we are awaiting a display of remorse from this man, or even a slight hint of conscience, shame or regret, it is not coming. Trump is shamelessly a self promoting carnival barker, as in days old, a seller of snake oil. Let us hope that through the slowly grinding gears of justice, he will ultimately be expelled.
There is no greater danger in the world today than the man in the White House who proclaims himself The Donald.
335
I believe the most important factor is how Republican members of Congress and the Senate react.
At what point, and how many, if any, will finally say "country before political party!"
188
They will be counted on the fingers of one hand. Both houses.
13
The Republican Congress doesn't honor decency, honesty or America First.They are little better than snakes.
2
To restore any dignity to the office of the President of the US Trump must be removed. The US has been in low simmering crisis ever since he won the election while losing the popular vote. The crisis, however, will not end if he is removed, there are miliions of Americans who will continue to believe that he was what this country needs.
127
Thank you, Nicholas, for this sobering, thoughtful piece. You are right: this is about what kind of a nation we want to live in. For that reason, many of us are prepared to take to the streets the moment Mueller or even Rosenstein is fired. Day after day the nation will witness demonstrations from the people that we demand to live under the rule of law and not the rule of a despot. We don't know where all this will lead, but we are prepared to fight this battle for the sake of the republic for as long as it takes.
500
Amen, I hope all people will march, Trump has something to hide, he owes it to the American people to let the investigation run its course. Didn’t Trump say during the campaign, that if you did nothing wrong, you don’t have to worry about the F.B.I. I’m sure he never thought this would happen.
179
This is the key question, really. Congress is unlikely to act if Trump fires Mueller. So what will we do when Congress finally abdicates all responsibility?
110
If Mueller or Rosenstein are fired without cause and Congress fails to act, We the People, must take to the streets of our nation and protest for as long as it takes until Congress does act or we vote them out of office.
80