Sarah Sanders told the White House press corps Tuesday that President Trump believes he has the power to fire Special Counsel Robert Mueller.
CNN:
"He certainly believes he has the power to do so," Sanders said when asked whether Trump believes he has that power.
She did not suggest Trump would be moving to fire Mueller.
Under the special counsel regulations, Mueller may be "disciplined or removed from office only by the personal action of the attorney general." Attorney General Jeff Sessions has recused himself from all matters related to the 2016 presidential campaign, so only Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein has the power to fire Mueller.
Trump does have the ability to fire Rosenstein, for no reason at all, as a member of the executive branch.
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Pressed again about legal scholars who believe the President could not directly fire Mueller without going through Rosenstein, Sanders backed up her assertion that Trump has the authority to fire Mueller on his own.
"We've been advised that the President certainly has the power to make that decision," she said, but did not elaborate further.
Trump began the day tweeting in defense of [Michael] Cohen, a longtime Trump Organization associate. “A TOTAL WITCH HUNT!!!” Trump wrote on Twitter Tuesday morning. He also added: “Attorney-client privilege is dead!”
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While the president has long complained – both publicly and privately – about the Russia investigation overseen by special counsel Robert Mueller, his rage has surged since Mueller’s recent decision to subpoena the Trump Organization. Monday’s raid further cemented the president’s belief that Mueller and others in the Justice Department are out to get him.
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Given Trump’s ongoing frustration with the Mueller investigation, one former campaign official predicted that both Rod Rosenstein and Mueller would be fired by the end of the week.
In spite of the president openly considering firing Mueller during the start of a White House meeting about Syria Monday evening, Republican lawmakers continue to say they don't think protective legislation is necessary.
"I haven't seen a clear indication yet that we needed to pass something to keep him from being removed because I don't think that's going to happen, and that remains my view," [Senator Majority Leader Mitch] McConnell (R-KY) told reporters.
The GOP leader, asked what the Senate would do if Trump fired the special counsel, declined to speculate.
"It's still my view that Mueller should be allowed to finish his job. I think that's the view of most people in Congress," he said.
CNN:
Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley told CNN, "I think it would be suicide for the President to fire him. I think the less the President says about this whole thing, the better off he will be. And I think Mueller is a person of stature and respected and I respect him."
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"I believe that Director Mueller has an important job to do, and I believe he can discharge that job in a professional and impartial sort of way. So my advice to anybody would let Director Mueller do his job," said the Senate's No. 2 Republican, John Cornyn of Texas.
Pressed what he'd do if Trump acted to fire Mueller, Cornyn said, "I'm not going to speculate as to what we would do because I think there would be serious repercussions."
"It's hard to predict what that would look like. So, I think Director Mueller ought to be free to do his job and let the courts and let the lawyers work it out," Cornyn said.
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"I don't think he would do that," Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst said. "There's always a possibility. He has that prerogative, but so far he's declined to do so and I think it's in his best interest if he does not."
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Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Corker, a Tennessee Republican, said he would back [legislation to protect the special counsel from being fired] but that it's not yet necessary.
"I would sign onto legislation that protected him, but I just don't see a lot of momentum around it," Corker said. "I think we'd be better off with (the President) knowing that it'd be a huge problem if he did something then unsuccessfully passing legislation."
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"I've talked to Trump. I think he understands the consequences," [Sen. Lindsey] Graham (R-SC) said. "I think it'd be the end of his presidency, for the political chaos."
WaPo:
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said she remained confident that Rosenstein would not take steps to terminate Mueller. “If the president were to fire the deputy attorney general, that would be an extraordinary crisis and a real problem,” she said. “And I just don’t think he’s going to do it.”
Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said he thought Trump was "too smart" to get rid of Mueller: "I think it would provoke some sort of reaction by Congress. I think he knows that," Kennedy said on CNN's "New Day," adding that "the president can't just fire Mr. Mueller. He's got to direct Mr. Rosenstein to fire him, and I don't think Mr. Rosenstein would do it."
Only one GOP Senator appears to be encouraging immediate preemptive action.
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) is pressing for the Senate Judiciary Committee to take up his legislation aimed at insulating Mueller from any attempt to fire him. Tillis is in discussions with Sens. Chris Coons (D-Del.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) about merging two separate Mueller protection bills and then persuading Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley to pass them.
“It’s a good bill that’s going to have enduring value beyond this presidency,” Tillis said.
Democrats have an entirely different take on the matter.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said Monday evening that the [Michael Cohen] raid raises the stakes for Trump — and that the president is likely to be angrier and act more "impulsively...than he has been so far."
"And we have a very important responsibility — in fact, more important than ever — to protect the special counsel" he said. "To send a message to the President of the United States that we will not tolerate any interference whatsoever, because the stakes have been raised for him."
CNN:
Sen. Chris Coons, the Delaware Democrat who co-sponsored one of the special counsel protection bills with Tillis, said legislation is "more urgent than ever" in light of Trump's comments Monday.
"I appreciate that all of my Republican colleagues appreciate the risk to the rule of law that an inappropriate, abrupt firing of the special counsel by the President would create," Coons said. "I am deeply puzzled by the lack of urgency or motivation to take some simple measured steps to address it."
WaPo:
Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) urged Republicans not to ignore “the elephant in the room” and to act now to protect Mueller. He said that firing Mueller would cross a “red line.” House Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer (Md.) said, “We ought to do a lot more.”
Top Democrats huddled in Schumer’s office Tuesday to discuss their plan in the wake of Trump’s comments. But because they do not control the Senate, there is little they can do to compel action unless a groundswell of Republicans join their outcry.
Asked if Democrats had any leverage to force the issue, Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Mark R. Warner (D-Va.) demurred.
“I accept virtually every Republican senator who’s made a comment on this,” Warner said. “This would be the end of the Trump presidency if he were to take this precarious action.”
Trump 'certainly believes he has the power' to fire Mueller, White House says (CNN)
White House puts Mueller on notice after raid (Politico)
McConnell: Legislation to protect Mueller not needed (The Hill)
Republicans say Mueller doesn't need more protections, but warn against firing him (CNN)
'The end of his presidency,' 'suicide': Some GOP senators warn Trump on firing Mueller (NBC News)
Senate Republican leaders warn Trump but reject calls to pass legislation to protect Mueller (WaPo)
Schumer Warns President Trump Not to Fire Mueller or Interfere With Russia Probe After FBI Raid (Schumer press release)