WASHINGTON — The Senate Judiciary Committee announced Tuesday it will consider two bills to protect special counsel Robert Mueller from being fired as he investigates possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia in last year’s election.
Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa., has scheduled a hearing for Tuesday, Sept. 26, to discuss “special counsels and the separation of powers.” His spokesman, Taylor Foy, confirmed that the hearing will focus largely on two bipartisan bills to shield Mueller, whose investigation Trump has denounced as “a witch hunt.”
One bill, sponsored by Sens. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., and Chris Coons, D-Del., would allow a special counsel who is fired to challenge that dismissal in federal court. A panel of judges would have to review the challenge within 14 days. The legislation would be retroactive to May 17, when Mueller was appointed by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.
“Our bill ensures that, if the President tries to protect himself by firing the Special Counsel, or if someone tries to fire the Special Counsel without good cause, a court, not the president, will have the final say,” Coons said Tuesday.
“This bill is about ensuring that the special counsel cannot be removed improperly, a protection that is critical not just for the current investigation but for investigations conducted by special counsels in the future,” Coons said.
Read more:
Paul Manafort demands investigation of report FBI wiretapped him
Senators seek to block Trump from removing special counsel Robert Mueller
Senate intel panel scraps interview with Trump lawyer Michael Cohen in Russia probe
The second bill, by Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Cory Booker, D-N.J., would require a judicial review to remove a special counsel from office. The attorney general would have to petition a federal court and establish that there was a “good cause for removal,” such as misconduct, incapacity or conflict of interest.
Earlier this year, it appeared that Trump might fire Attorney General Jeff Sessions because he was angry that Sessions had recused himself from any investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential race. Sessions recused himself because he served as an adviser to the Trump campaign. His recusal led Rosenstein to appoint Mueller as special counsel.
If Trump fired Sessions, a new attorney general could fire Mueller and take over the investigation. However, the danger to Sessions appeared to ease after Grassley and other senators made it clear they would not approve a new attorney general this year. Sessions is a former senator from Alabama.
Mueller, a former FBI director for both Republican and Democratic administrations, has been conducting an aggressive investigation that has clearly frustrated the president.
The Senate Judiciary Committee, which is full of former prosecutors, is conducting its own Russia probe. The Senate and House Intelligence committees also are investigating.
Posted!
1 of 22
2 of 22
3 of 22
4 of 22
5 of 22
6 of 22
7 of 22
8 of 22
9 of 22
10 of 22
11 of 22
12 of 22
13 of 22
14 of 22
15 of 22
16 of 22
17 of 22
18 of 22
19 of 22
20 of 22
21 of 22
22 of 22
Article source: http://www.technobuffalo.com/2016/12/01/google-pixel-camera-bug/
Read More
No comments:
Post a Comment