Special counsel Robert Mueller is on a quest to destroy the President.
Trump supporters believe the investigation should be shut down immediately because of his bias.
But Mueller is holding one nuclear option he can use to ruin Trump for good.
Some Trump supporters believe the President should fire the special counsel.
Others contend that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein – the man overseeing Mueller – should recuse himself because he is both Mueller’s superior and a witness.
A new deputy attorney general could shrink the scope of Mueller’s out-of-control witch hunt.
This situation became more serious when Mueller used the FBI and federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York to launder information in a stealth attempt to expand the scope of his probe into payments made to Stormy Daniels and other women alleging affairs with Trump.
There has been increased speculation that Trump will fire Mueller.
What will happen if that goes down?
Matt Ford writes at the New Republic that Mueller should then use his “nuclear option” and release everything he has found so far:
“If Trump fires the special counsel or substantively hamstrings his ability to pursue the Russia investigation to whatever end, Mueller won’t be able to fulfill that responsibility to the truth. Fortunately, the former FBI director has an option of last resort: releasing everything he’s discovered to the American public, in one way or another…
… As a result, Mueller’s best options to preserve his investigation’s findings, if the worst should occur, are more unorthodox. The most straightforward method would be to send the most relevant findings to the press, either through anonymous sources or by simply mailing select reporters a manila envelope containing key documents. Former FBI Director James Comey deployed this tactic to extraordinary effect last year when he used a middleman to get copies of his memos about Trump’s interference attempts into the Times’s hands. The disclosures culminated in Mueller’s appointment as special counsel.
Another option would be to clandestinely deliver his incomplete findings to a sympathetic member of Congress. That representative or senator could then read the documents into the congressional record. Members of Congress enjoy an absolute legal privilege from prosecution for anything said during House and Senate debates, making them an ideal vehicle for getting politically sensitive material into the public record. Alaska Senator Mike Gravel famously used this privilege to read portions of the Pentagon Papers on the Senate floor in 1971.”
Ford writes that it would be illegal for Mueller to disclose his findings:
“One cause for hesitation is that it may be unlawful for Mueller to publicly disclose information about an ongoing investigation. “Disseminating non-public, sensitive information about DOJ matters could violate federal laws, employee non-disclosure agreements, and individual privacy rights,” the Justice Department’s manual for federal prosecutors warns. The manual states that such disclosures could “jeopardize the investigation of a case,” which seems like a lessened concern if the president shuts down the Russia inquiry, or “unfairly damage the reputation of a person,” which would be a Herculean feat in Trump’s instance.”
The media would demand Mueller release his findings so Mueller’s criminal attack on democracy would be framed as acting in the public’s best interest.
Many Trump supporters such as Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity have counseled the President not to fire Mueller.
Trump’s best option is to see the investigation to the end – Mueller has found no evidence of collusion or obstruction of justice – or put a new deputy attorney general in place to rein in Mueller’s witch hunt.
