Donald Trump’s lawyers are calling for the appointment of a second special counsel to investigate the special counsel overseeing the federal inquiry into ties between the Trump campaign and Russia.
According to a report from Axios published early Tuesday, one of Trump’s lawyers, Jay Sekulow, has raised concerns over potential conflicts of interest within special counsel Robert Mueller’s team.
Sekulow issued the statement after Fox News reported that the wife of a senior justice department official had worked for Fusion GPS, the opposition research firm behind the the anti-Trump “dossier”, during the 2016 campaign.
The 2020 election
The most likely price Trump would pay, if he were perceived guilty of wrongdoing, would be a 2020 re-election loss. He can't afford to lose many supporters and expect to remain in office. Any disillusionment stemming from the Russian affair could make the difference. His average approval rating has hung in the mid-to-upper 30s. Every president to win re-election since the second world war did so with an approval rating in the 49%-50% range or better.
Congress
As long as Republicans are in charge, Trump is not likely to face impeachment proceedings or to be removed from office. A two-thirds majority in the Senate is required to remove a president from office through impeachment.
Public opinion
If public opinion swings precipitously against the president, however, his grip on power could slip. At some point, Republicans in Congress may, if their constituents will it, turn on Trump.
Criminal charges
Apart from impeachment, Trump could, perhaps, face criminal charges, which would (theoretically) play out in the court system as opposed to Congress. But it’s a matter of debate among scholars and prosecutors whether Trump, as a sitting president, may be prosecuted in this way.
Other
Robert Mueller is believed to have Trump’s tax returns, and to be looking at the Trump Organization as well as Jared Kushner’s real estate company. It’s possible that wrongdoing unrelated to the election could be uncovered and make trouble for Trump. The president, and Kushner, deny wrongdoing.
“The Department of Justice and FBI cannot ignore the multiple problems that have been created by these obvious conflicts of interests,” Sekulow said. “New revelations require the appointment of a special counsel to investigate.”
The official in question, Bruce G Ohr, was demoted last week. A reason was not provided for his departure, and the justice department has not confirmed that Ohr or his wife were linked to Fusion GPS.
The dossier, which contains many allegations detailing ties between Trump and Moscow, was authored by former British spy Christopher Steele. Although much the dossier has been corroborated by US officials, it has generated significant controversy for containing some unverified and salacious claims about Trump.
The dossier became the subject of renewed scrutiny when it was confirmed that Hillary Clinton and the Democratic National Committee provided funding for Fusion GPS. The Washington Free Beacon, a conservative website, had funded the group during the Republican primary. It is routine for campaigns to conduct opposition research on their opponents.
“The Department of Justice and FBI cannot ignore the multiple problems that have been created by these obvious conflicts of interests,” Sekulow said. “New revelations require the appointment of a special counsel to investigate.”
Trump and his allies have decried what they perceive as bias in the Russia investigation and were recently emboldened when a New York Times report revealed that Mueller had reassigned a top FBI agent over potential conflict of interest. The agent, Peter Strzok, was reassigned over the summer after Mueller learned he had sent anti-Trump text messages to FBI lawyer Lisa Page.
Attorney general Jeff Sessions has reportedly floated the idea of appointing a second special counsel. Trump has meanwhile called on the FBI to investigate Clinton, while repeatedly denouncing the Russia investigation as “witch hunt”. The president has yet to accept the US intelligence community’s assessment that Russia meddled in the 2016 presidential election.
Mueller has escalated his inquiry in recent months, convening a grand jury in Washington and issuing a series of indictments against former Trump campaign officials.
They include former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and his deputy, Rick Gates, and Trump’s former national security adviser Michael Flynn. George Papadopoulos, a former foreign policy adviser on Trump’s campaign, has been cooperating with Mueller’s team after pleading guilty for lying to the FBI.
