Rod Rosenstein wants Robert Mueller to follow Department of Justice protocols for investigations. James Comey wants Mueller to follow in his footsteps. In an op…
Rod Rosenstein wants Robert Mueller to follow Department of Justice protocols for investigations. James Comey wants Mueller to follow in his footsteps. In an op-ed for the New York Times, the former FBI director claims not to have a dog in the fight as to whether he’s rooting for criminal charges against Donald Trump, but he wants Mueller to write a report of the kind that prompted Rosenstein to recommend Comey’s termination.
First, though, there’s this bit of silliness:
Even though I believe Mr. Trump is morally unfit to be president of the United States, I’m not rooting for Mr. Mueller to demonstrate that he is a criminal. I’m also not rooting for Mr. Mueller to “clear” the president. I’m not rooting for anything at all, except that the special counsel be permitted to finish his work, charge whatever cases warrant charging and report on his work.
Comey and Democrats in Congress have been ringing this bell for almost 22 months now, and Trump still hasn’t fired Mueller or even attempted to do so. Comey acknowledges that in the next paragraph, but even at this late date — when it’s becoming obvious that Mueller’s wrapping things up and that none of his indictments have anything to do with “collusion” between Russia and the campaign — Comey’s still stoking the “Trump might fire Mueller!” flames. If Trump was going to fire Mueller, it would have happened months ago, or perhaps almost two years ago when Rosenstein first appointed him.
Now that it’s painfully clear that Trump isn’t going to fire Mueller despite all of the sturm und drang from his critics, Comey wants Mueller to spill all the beans when he writes his report. Comey calls this “maximum transparency,” and claims it’s “traditionally” what the Department of Justice does with investigations:
I am rooting for a demonstration to the world — and maybe most of all to our president and his enablers — that the United States has a justice system that works because there are people who believe in it and rise above personal interest and tribalism.
