Charles Schumer, the Senate Democratic Leader, on Tuesday called out to Senate GOP leaders to help bring legislation to the floor that is going to protect special counsel Robert Mueller from being fired as the tension over his investigation into Russian election meddling is getting more and more heated.
Schumer asked for new protections just hours after the FBI raided the Manhattan office of Trump’s longtime personal lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen, which apparently enraged the President.
The Senate minority leader said that Mueller’s investigation must be allowed to proceed unimpeded if we want to avoid a constitutional crisis. He also mentioned that there are several bipartisan bills to protect the special counsel.
“Let us take steps to protect the special counsel from political interference. We have several bipartisan bills designed to do just that. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell should bring them to the floor and let us debate them very soon,” Schumer said.
Meanwhile, President Trump bashed the Department of Justice Tuesday morning after FBI agents used a search warrant to seize documents from Cohen’s office and residence on Monday afternoon.
“Attorney-client privilege is dead!” he tweeted. “A TOTAL WITCH HUNT!!!”
Trump also did not rule out the possibility to fire Mueller while speaking to reporters before a White House meeting on Monday. Calling the investigation a “disgrace,” Trump said, “Many people have said, ‘You should fire him’.”
The Hill reported that Schumer defended the raid as being approved by lifelong public officials, noting there was a high bar for them to obtain a warrant.
“Law enforcement officers believe there’s a good chance that the attorney for [the] President committed [a] crime or was involved in fraud where they couldn’t have gotten the okay from the magistrate to make these seizures,” Schumer said.
Previously, Democrats and a few Republicans have tried to protect the special counsel’s independence.
Republican Senator Thom Tillis last year pushed for a bill that would give judges a power to reinstate Mueller if a court found his firing to be improper. That bill was also co-sponsored by Democratic Senator Christopher Coons.
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