Republican senators who helped write legislation last summer protecting Special Counsel Robert Mueller, are in no hurry now to get those measures passed, The Washington Post reports.
The legislation prevents President Donald Trump from firing the special counsel, before he concludes his Russia investigation, by allowing a panel of federal judges to review orders before dismissing Mueller.
Negotiations on two different bipartisan proposals have been stuck for months, with no signs that progress will soon be made, despite numerous indications by Trump that he is not pleased with Mueller’s work.
“We’re still having the discussion. It’s not driven by any current events,” Senator Thom Tillis, one of the bills’ co-author, said.
When asked about the negotiations, Senator Lindsay Graham, another co-author of the legislation, said, “I don’t really know.”
The lack of interest Republicans demonstrate has prompted some Democrats to claim that they were intentionally prolonging passage of the measures.
“There is a sense that the wagons have been circled. The question is really whether our Republican colleagues have a sense of emergency that I think befits our present situation,” Senator Richard Blumenthal said, adding that Republicans are under “political pressure” not to cross the Russian president.
The legislation does not require any more negotiating on, as the only sticking point between the two parties’ bills is the disagreement on whether the federal judges’ review should follow automatically or at the special counsel’s request.
However, there is another hurdle in passing the legislation. Namely, Republicans are not convinced that a three-judge panel reviewing a president’s termination order is constitutional. Many of them have also joined Trump in criticizing Mueller and accusing the FBI of political bias.
This has caused some Democrats to believe that Republicans are trying to give the president room to fire Mueller should his investigation get too close to Trump.
Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Mark Warner criticized the attack on Mueller, calling it “irresponsible and reckless,” while referring to the special counsel as “fair and independent.”
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