With Jeff Sessions’ recent resignation as Attorney General, the fate of Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation is now in question. Following Sessions’ resignation, Matthew Whitaker was placed in command; Whitaker has made several comments in the past…
With Jeff Sessions’ recent resignation as Attorney General, the fate of Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation is now in question. Following Sessions’ resignation, Matthew Whitaker was placed in command; Whitaker has made several comments in the past denouncing the probe. As a result, the American people stepped out in public protest in over 900 hundred rallies across the country on Thursday, commemorating the movement with « Protect Mueller » tweets along the way.
The rallies were organized by MoveOn.org under the website titled Nobody Is Above The Law. MoveOn defines itself as an organization that mobilizes political activism and is « committed to an inclusive and progressive future. » Meanwhile, the Nobody Is Above The Law site’s mission statement reads in part, « Whitaker has publicly outlined strategies to stifle the investigation and cannot be allowed to remain in charge of it. The Nobody Is Above the Law network demands that Whitaker immediately commit not to assume supervision of the investigation. »
Many believe that Mueller’s probe has fallen under apparent jeopardy now that Trump has the ability to appoint someone to replace Sessions permanently. Even if Trump keeps Whitaker as a permanent replacement (which is unlikely but entirely possible), the probe is at risk: Whitaker penned an op-ed for CNN in 2017 that detailed all of the ways in which he thought the Russia probe was « going too far, » and even suggested that it would be reasonable to starve it of funding as a means to end it. In another instance, he described the probe as « ridiculous » and « a little fishy » while speaking on a radio show, per CNN.
From politicians to lawmakers to everyday citizens, here are some of the tweets people are writing to push back against the threat to the Russia probe, and to commemorate the power of their protests:
Per Massachusetts’ Attorney General Maura Healey, 18 state attorneys general have signed a petition demanding that Whitaker recuse himself from the position, due to his previous biased comments on the probe.
The letter read in part, « You must be aware that your comments criticizing Mr. Mueller’s investigation have been widely circulated. At various opportunities—in print, on television, and through social media— you have suggested cutting the Special Counsel’s budget or limiting his authority to follow lines of inquiry. »
Comedian Patton Oswalt wrote, « I love that this is happening. Take to the streets, everyone. »
More to come…
« Not New Year’s Eve — # ProtectMueller in Times Square, » Silberman wrote. Silberman is a New York Times bestselling author.
« I’m used to rallies around clearly contentious issues, » The Atlantic’s Hamblin wrote. « On my way home today there was a march for…an independent investigation into known foreign intervention in a U. S. election. »
MoveOn tweeted an amazing aerial shot of the New York #ProtectMueller protest. The group appeared to be thousands strong.
Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, who is currently serving as the U. S. Representative for Washington’s 7th District, tweeted, « It’s go time, Seattle. We’re rallying at Cal Anderson Park at 5pm to #ProtectMueller. See you there. »
Public Citizen, a « national, nonprofit advocacy organization that has been standing up to corporate power and holding government accountable for 47 years, » tweeted out photos of the protests in various cities, noting how big many of them were.
It tweeted, « Thousands are mobilized to #ProtectMueller and demand that #WhitakerMustRecuse. »
Ben Wikler, the director of MoveOn, tweeted, « I was so exhausted today from working on the election that I fell asleep at my desk. I’m sure tons of us feel the same way. Trump was counting on it. But tonight, we hit the streets anyway—in our thousands and tens of thousands. And our message is being heard. # ProtectMueller «
Former Clinton and Kerry advisor Peter Daou celebrated the greater meaning of the #ProtectMueller protests. He tweeted, « Browse the #ProtectMueller hashtag to see democracy in action. »
Louise Mensch, a blogger and former member of British Parliament, tweeted, « I think the # ProtectMueller hashtag is sweet, but completely unnecessary. The man is a Marine. He won the Bronze Star with combat V. Then he served as Director of the FBI, with counterintelligence expertise. Don’t you worry about him. He protects us. »
The former director for the Office of Government Ethics tweeted, « Top two trending hashtags in the DC area! Write them in tweets, spread the word. »
MSNBC’s Chris Hayes pointed out how amazing it was that the protests were organized on such short notice, yet still garnered such massive crowds. He wrote, « I’m actually pretty amazed at the turnout these rallies are getting on such short notice. »
More to come…
