A prominent Republican says that Donald Trump would doom his presidency if he fires special counsel Robert Mueller.
Sen Lindsey Graham, during an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union”, said that Mr Mueller is following the evidence where it takes him as he investigates Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election. Getting rid of Mr Mueller, the senator said, would be a step too far.
“If he tried to do that, that would be the beginning of the end of his presidency, because we're a rule of law nation,” Mr Graham said. ”I think it's very important he be allowed to do his job without interference and there are many Republicans who share my view.”
Mr Trump has publicly decried investigations into Russian election meddling as witch hunts, repeatedly insisting that he and his team had nothing to do with Russia’s attempts to influence the presidential race in 2016.
He has also been rumoured to have been considering firing Mr Mueller from his appointed position, and previously fired former FBI Director James Comey.
Mr Graham’s comments come just days after the Trump administration fired former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe Friday.
The comments also come just a day after Mr Trump criticised the Russia investigation on Twitter, saying that it should not have been started because there was no collusion between his campaign and Russia.
““It was based on fraudulent activities and a Fake Dossier paid for by Crooked Hillary and the [Democratic National Committee], and improperly used in [Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act] COURT for surveillance of my campaign. WITCH HUNT!” Mr Trump tweeted, questioning the legitimacy of the investigation.
Several individuals have been indicted as a result of Mr Mueller’s probe, though no cases stemming from the investigation have been tied to the Trump campaign explicitly.
It is theorized that Mr Mueller has been using the other lawsuits in an attempt to gain leverage and information from the individuals
