Robert Mueller: A Most Welcome Special Counsel

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As special counsel, Robert Mueller will evidently have wide latitude and authority in pursuing his investigation of connections between Russia and the Trump campaign.As special counsel, Robert Mueller will evidently have wide latitude and authority in pursuing his investigation of connections between Russia and the Trump campaign.CreditPHOTOGRAPH BY JABIN BOTSFORD / THE WASHINGTON POST VIA GETTY

In a week of mind-bending political developments, there is finally some good news. On Wednesday evening, the Justice Department appointed Robert Mueller, a former F.B.I. director, as a special counsel to oversee the F.B.I.’s investigation into possible collusion between Donald Trump’s 2016 Presidential campaign and the Russian government.

“In my capacity as acting attorney general I determined that it is in the public interest for me to exercise my authority and appoint a special counsel to assume responsibility for this matter,’’ Rod Rosenstein, the deputy Attorney General, said in a public statement.

Several aspects of this development are encouraging, beginning with the fact that it was Rosenstein who did the deed. With the Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, having recused himself from dealing with the investigation following the revelation that he had made misleading statements about his meetings with the Russian Ambassador, Rosenstein demonstrated the independence for which he had been known until last week, when he wrote a memo to Sessions that effectively recommended the firing of James Comey, now the former head of the F.B.I.

Just minutes after Wednesday’s surprise announcement, some of Trump’s supporters were already accusing Rosenstein of buckling under pressure from Democrats and the mainstream media. What actually happened is that the legal system worked as it is meant to work. Given the revelation, earlier this week, that Trump allegedly asked Comey to drop the F.B.I.’s investigation of Michael Flynn, the former national-security adviser, and given the fact that Rosenstein himself was publicly associated with Comey’s dismissal, something had to be done to assure the public that the fix wasn’t in—that the Bureau’s investigators would pursue the Russia probe vigorously and professionally, regardless of where it took them.

Rosenstein, to his great credit, recognized this necessity and took action. “My decision is not a finding that crimes have been committed or that any prosecution is warranted. I have made no such determination,” he went on his statement. “What I have determined is that based upon the unique circumstances the public interest requires me to place this investigation under the authority of a person who exercises a degree of independence from the normal chain of command.’’

It was also reassuring that, according to several reports, Rosenstein didn’t consult with the White House before making this move. In a matter that directly affects the President, and which is so controversial, this was exactly the right thing to do. It reaffirmed the principle that America is a nation of laws and law enforcement, to which everyone, even the President, is subject.

Evidently, Mueller will have wide latitude and authority in pursuing his investigation. According to the Washington Post, the legal order that Rosenstein signed authorized the special counsel to look into “any links and/or coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the campaign of President Donald Trump,” as well as “any matters that arose or may arise directly from the investigation.’’ The order also said that Mueller would have the right, if he deemed it necessary, “to prosecute federal crimes arising from the investigation of these matters.”

Finally, and perhaps most important, Rosenstein chose someone with stature and experience to fill the role of special prosecutor: Mueller, a former officer in the Marine Corps, served as director of the F.B.I. from 2001 to 2013. Although he was appointed to head the F.B.I. by a Republican President, George W. Bush, he is widely seen as an apolitical figure.

In a striking show of bipartisanship, on Wednesday night Democrats and Republicans alike praised Mueller’s appointment. “Mueller is a great selection. Impeccable credentials. Should be widely accepted,” Jason Chaffetz, the Republican head of the House Oversight Committee, wrote on Twitter. Chuck Schumer, the Senate Minority Leader, issued a statement that said, “Former Director Mueller is exactly the right kind of individual for this job. I now have significantly greater confidence that the investigation will follow the facts wherever they lead.”

It barely needs saying that Chaffetz and Schumer are not in the habit of agreeing with each other. Some of Schumer’s colleagues were a bit less effusive about the Justice Department’s move. “A special prosecutor is the first step, but it cannot be the last,” Nancy Pelosi, the House Minority Leader, said in a statement. She went on to say that Mueller’s appointment “cannot take the place of a truly independent, outside commission that is completely free from the Trump Administration’s meddling.”

That is a fair point to make, and Adam Schiff, the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, also made a version of it. The G.O.P.-led investigations on Capitol Hill haven’t done much thus far, and some Republicans may be tempted to use the appointment of a special counsel as an excuse to maintain the slow pace, or to go even slower. That shouldn’t be allowed to happen.

But, having said that, the big news here is that an independent figure will take over a criminal probe that could well determine the fate of Trump’s Presidency. In firing Comey after allegedly pressing him to drop the Flynn investigation, Trump grossly abused his power, and launched a serious attack on the institutions of American democracy. On Wednesday, one of those institutions—the Justice Department—struck back.

And that is something to be very grateful for.

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