This should go without saying, but it's not OK for a U.S. president to call an FBI execution of search warrants, signed off on by a Republican appointee and performed by respected agents, a "disgrace."
It's not OK for Donald Trump to call Monday's raid of personal attorney Michael Cohen's office "an attack on our country" or "an attack on what we stand for" or, his old standby, "a total witch hunt."
It's especially not OK for Trump to float the idea that he might fire special counsel Robert Mueller because of what the FBI did.
That's exactly what Trump suggested Monday. "Why don't I fire Mueller?" he said in a rant to reporters before a meeting with senior military leaders. "Well, I think it's a disgrace what's going on. We'll see what happens."
Are you worried about the president yet, Republicans?
For months, GOP members of Congress have poo-poohed the notion that Trump might order the firing of the special prosecutor. Doing so would be an affront to the Constitution, they said, not to mention political suicide. But that logic supposes that the president is a logical and sensible public official, not the impulsive and reckless man he has shown himself to be. On Monday, according to reports, Trump raged in the White House as TV chronicled the raid on Cohen, whom the Washington Post reports is under federal investigation for possible bank fraud, wire fraud and campaign finance violations. The president was still visibly upset when he faced reporters, folding his arms at times and rocking back and forth.
Some of Trump's supporters did little to calm him, suggesting the FBI raid was a violation of attorney-client privilege. The U.S. Attorney's Manual, however, requires a deliberate review process to protect privileged material, and it requires that seizures like Monday's be done in consultation with the Justice Department and be approved by a U.S. attorney as well as a magistrate judge. This was not some half-baked political raid. It was an action signed off on by people who knew their approval would be closely scrutinized.
There's also a good possibility that the raid had little to do directly with the president. Prosecutors obtained the search warrant after a referral from Mueller, which suggests the special counsel felt the seizure was outside the purview of his investigation. Still, Trump has reason to feel vulnerable, with the FBI now possessing communications between the president and the man who guards at least some of his secrets.
It's important to note _ again _ that we don't know what those secrets are, or whether Mueller will find the president or his campaign participated in activities that rise to the level of criminal collusion. We do know that the president has repeatedly disparaged Mueller and his investigation, and that Republicans Thom Tillis and Lindsey Graham among others were briefly concerned enough last year to suggest bills protecting the special counsel.
Tillis, on Tuesday, said he wants such a bill passed now, Politico reported. He should push that legislation before it's too late. The president is raging. He's vulnerable. He's Donald Trump.
Are you worried enough yet, Republicans?
We are.
