The Trump presidency has been characterized as many things leading to a never-ending line of scandals and controversies, but one of the most serious accusations against him has been his alleged involvement with Russia and its influence on the election of 2016. And this is all you need to know about it.
How it all began
After the election of 2016, it had been made certain by US authorities that the Russian government had led an ‘influence’ campaign on Hillary Clinton with attacks ranging from leaking her emails to the fake news spread on social media.
In response to that, the erstwhile FBI Director James Comey launched an investigation on Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election and its possible link to the Trump campaign.
Despite Trump’s persistence that the investigation be dropped, Comey continued this investigation and on May 9, 2017, President Trump fired James Comey on the grounds of incompetence and stated that he had lost his confidence in him.
Not only did this decision come rather abruptly but also deepened the doubts in everybody’s mind further.
Following Comey’s dismissal, Democrats demanded that a special counsel be appointed to oversee the Russia investigation. Despite the White House’s insistence on not needing one, on May 16, 2017, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appointed a Special Counsel.
What is a Special Counsel?
A Special Counsel is a lawyer appointed by the Deputy Attorney General to investigate a suspected breach of justice where a normal attorney cannot be assigned due to conflict of interest or other extreme circumstances.
The Special Counsel has powers similar to those of an attorney- to subpoena records and file charges. But he/she also has additional powers which include the ability to convene a grand jury and prosecute anyone who interferes with the investigation.
Special counsel can receive resources for their investigation from the FBI and can form a team to help investigate. He/She is answerable to only the Deputy Attorney General and isn’t controlled by the Justice Department or the President.
Enter Robert Mueller…
Robert Mueller, the FBI director in 2001, was assigned as the Special Counsel by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to oversee the investigation on Russia and any other activity linked to it.
Mueller’s appointment received praise from both the Democrats and the Republicans and his experience in the field made him highly qualified to head such a high profile investigation.
On appointment, Mueller quickly turned his attention towards the President himself and his 2016 campaign. Since then, despite Trump’s constant ramblings about this being ‘The world’s most expensive witch hunt ‘, Mueller has been steadily moving forward and charging people connected with the same – all linked to Trump in some way. He has proved, without a doubt, that he is the biggest threat to Trump’s presidency.
Even though Mueller has managed to link quite a few of Trump’s allies with Russia and its government, including his son, only a few have been indicted as of now.
Here’s a list of those charged by Mueller so far :
Michael Cohen: Trump’s Lawyer.
Michael Flynn: Trump’s former national security adviser
George Papadopoulos: a former Trump campaign adviser
Paul Manafort: Trump’s election Campaign Chairman
Rick Gates: Business associate of Manafort
Can Mueller Be Fired?
Not directly. But it seems that Mueller could be at risk of getting fired indirectly, as even though he can only be fired by the Deputy Attorney General, Trump can fire Mr. Rosenstein and replace him with a Deputy Attorney General who favors Trump’s choice and who would then proceed to fire Robert Mueller. Though such a move would fall into a legal gray area, the possibility of such a move still exists.
The Trump-Russia Investigation is still showing no signs of coming to a halt or conclusion but seems to be gathering pace and it remains to be seen who will prevail. For now, all we can do is wait.