WASHINGTON, Nov 9, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – President Donald Trump was accused
Thursday of pushing America toward a constitutional crisis after his firing
of the attorney general cast doubt over the future of an explosive probe into
election collusion with Russian agents.
Trump emerged from Tuesday’s midterm elections promising a new era of
cooperation, but suspicions that he is trying to kill the Russia probe and an
extraordinary intensification of his war with journalists has thrown
Washington into turmoil.
The investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller’s into whether the
Trump campaign colluded with Moscow during the 2016 election has been hanging
over Trump throughout his turbulent presidency.
Trump has continuously threatened that he has the power to shut down what
he calls “a witch hunt” and on Wednesday he took the first potential step
when he replaced his attorney general, Jeff Sessions, with loyalist Matthew
Whitaker.
The switch, announced abruptly in a Trump tweet, provoked consternation
across Washington, where politicians from both sides of the aisle have long
warned that political interference in Mueller’s work cannot be tolerated.
Democrats, who won the lower house of Congress in Tuesday’s midterm
elections, now see Trump as close to crossing that line with the ultimate
goal of covering up alleged crimes.
“The rule of law is disappearing before our eyes,” tweeted Sally Yates, a
deputy attorney general under Trump’s predecessor Barack Obama and briefly in
the top job under Trump before he sacked her.
“He wants a political crony to protect him from the investigation of his
own campaign,” she said.
Neal Katyal and George Conway, two prominent Washington lawyers, wrote in
The New York Times that Trump was already breaking the law by appointing
Whitaker without Senate confirmation.
The rushed appointment “is unconstitutional. It’s illegal. And it means
that anything Mr Whitaker does, or tries to do, in that position is invalid,”
they argued.
– Live TV row –
In cities nationwide protestors took to the streets urging Congress to
protect Mueller’s probe.
“Matthew Whitaker has criticized Robert Mueller’s investigation again and
again,” said Noah Bookbinder at a park near the White House, where some 500
demonstrators had gathered as part of the “Nobody Is Above The Law” protests.
“He’s called it a lynch mob,” said Bookbinder, head of the Citizens for
Responsibility and Ethics, a Washington group. “He said it should be shut
down.”
“Congress has to step in, and protect this investigation.”
Trump said Wednesday that the midterms, where Democrats won the House of
Representatives and Republicans held the Senate, meant both sides would have
to learn bipartisanship.
But if anything, the election aftermath has featured even hotter
controversy than before, whether over Mueller or Trump’s other favorite
bugbear — the media.
At a press conference Wednesday, Trump branded CNN reporter Jim Acosta an
“enemy of the people” when he posed questions, including about the Russia
probe, and refused to give up the mic.
The row, carried live on national TV networks, was followed by Trump
issuing angry put-downs to several other reporters. Shortly after, the White
House took the extremely rare measure of revoking Acosta’s press pass.
On Thursday, the Acosta incident entered even more bizarre territory when
the White House was accused of tweeting a video doctored to make the reporter
appear more aggressive in fending off the female press aide who tried to
remove his mic.
Answering allegations Thursday that the White House had used a clip edited
by a notorious right-wing conspiracy theorist, Trump spokeswoman Sarah
Sanders said: “We stand by our statement.”
– Call to ‘stop him’ –
Spats between Trump and journalists can sometimes seem circus-like, but
critics say the president’s hot temper illustrates his deeper disdain for
Washington norms — and allegedly for the rule of law.
Those concerns are now focused on the future of the Mueller probe, which
began as a look into alleged links with Russians seeking to disrupt the
election and expanded into an investigation of billionaire Trump’s murky
finances, including his business ties to Russia.
As Mueller has gotten closer to the heart of the Trump family’s closely
guarded financial secrets, the president has become more enraged.
Whitaker now becomes Mueller’s new boss and will likely be sympathetic
towards Trump.
Sessions had recused himself from the investigation, because of his own
contacts with Russians during the 2016 campaign, instead handing
responsibility for Mueller to his deputy Rod Rosenstein.
Trump responded by repeatedly seeking to publicly humiliate Sessions.
Whitaker has made no public comment since being named, but is reported in US
media to have made clear he will not recuse himself.
In the past, he has shown distinct skepticism about the probe, calling for
its scope to be curtailed.
In 2017 he even used Trump’s words, warning against Mueller engaging in a
“witch hunt.” He also called the appointment of Mueller as special counsel —
a position meant to be safe from political influence — “ridiculous.”
In the House of Representatives, the senior Democrat on the Intelligence
Committee — which Democrats will control from January — sounded the alarm.
“If the president seeks to interfere in the impartial administration of
justice, the Congress must stop him,” Adam Schiff said.
Republicans, with a handful of exceptions, have so far remained silent.