Over the weekend, Donald Trump broke with the advice of his lawyers, of Republican legislators, of of everyone who has even a nodding acquaintance with the law and began attacking Special Counsel Robert Mueller and his team directly. No longer content to kick the FBI or deride the Department of Justice, Trump made repeated tweets going after the special counsel’s investigation, claiming falsely that the team was composed of “hardened Democrats” with no Republicans. Some Republican legislators—particularly those like Jeff Flake or Trey Gowdy who are not running for re-election in the fall—made moderating statements, and Trump’s own attorneys stated that firing the special counsel was not on the table, but Trump doesn’t seem to be talking to anyone but Trump.
A dozen people close to Mr. Trump or the White House, including current and former aides and longtime friends, described him as newly emboldened to say what he really feels and to ignore the cautions of those around him.
What could have possibly signaled to Trump that he could say what he wanted, with no concern that his actions be misconstrued, or that there would be any consequences for interfering in the Russia investigation?
Last week, Conaway announced the end of the committee’s probe and laid out a number of conclusions reached by GOP members in their initial report. Among those conclusions was the assertion that there is no evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.
Armed with the GOP report that there was “no collusion,” and dancing on the pension dollars he stole from former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe with a last minute firing, an elated Trump feels invulnerable to criticism and free from any possible punishment. Buoyed by this newfound freedom, Trump has openly bragged about lying to the Canadian prime minister, attacked his perceived opponents with fresh quantities of spite and venom and tossed around suggestions of expanding the death penalty.
He hasn’t yet gotten around to suggesting death penalties for his opponents … but give him time.
On the Sunday talk circuit, Republican lawmakers made cautious entreaties to Trump that he should not break with the last illusion of due process by firing Robert Mueller. It was enough that Paul Ryan was willing to stand up and … have someone else read from a paper.
AshLee Strong, a spokeswoman for House Speaker Paul Ryan, issued a statement on Sunday when asked for a reaction to the President's attacks on the Mueller probe.
"As the Speaker has always said, Mr. Mueller and his team should be able to do their job," Strong said.
Note that not only was the statement so soft as to be meaningless, Ryan was still afraid to even read the note himself.
But while Trump may feel emboldened to talk about his disdain for the truth, the biggest lie floating around Washington over the weekend wasn’t one that came from Trump’s thin lips. It wasn’t even the idea that Republicans would suddenly wake up and respond should Trump dismiss Robert Mueller. The biggest lie was the widely broadcast idea that Trump would be overstepping the bounds of propriety only if he actually fires Mueller.
The truth is that every word Trump says or tweets concerning the investigation is an overstep. Trump does not have to fire someone to be engaged in obstruction. His public and private statements place tremendous pressure on Republicans in Congress and on officials in the FBI and Department of Justice. If Trump had never spoken out, and Andrew McCabe had been fired following the issuance of the inspector general’s report, there would have still been some level of concern.
But the reason that the firing of Andrew McCabe—who no Democrat has a reason to embrace—generated such a firestorm was simply that Trump had attacked him over, and over and over. The result is that it’s impossible to separate the firing of McCabe from the idea that Trump wanted him fired. That pressure was bound to permeate down to Attorney General Jefferson Sessions. And no matter how independent he is supposed to be, the pressure from Trump also had to impact the FBI’s inspector general.
No matter what his attorney says, or what incredibly weak statement Paul Ryan has someone else whisper, Trump’s attacks on Mueller are clearly intended to be a warm up to firing the special counsel. In the meantime, every single statement that Trump makes to demean the investigation only adds weight to charges of obstruction and interference.
And elated as Trump may be, he might take a moment to consider the quiet man on the other end of those tweets:
Donald Trump’s 1968:
But after he graduated from college in the spring of 1968, making him eligible to be drafted and sent to Vietnam, he received a diagnosis that would change his path: bone spurs in his heels.
The diagnosis resulted in a coveted 1-Y medical deferment that fall, exempting him from military service as the United States was undertaking huge troop deployments to Southeast Asia, inducting about 300,000 men into the military that year.
Robert Mueller’s 1968:
Mueller would earn the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry in his time in Vietnam. The citation for his Bronze Star said that during an attack on his rifle platoon, "2nd Lt. Mueller fearlessly moved from one position to another, directing the accurate counterfire of his men and shouting words of encouragement to them."
During the firefight on Dec. 11, 1968, Mueller "personally led a fire team across the fire-swept terrain to recover a mortally wounded Marine who had fallen in a position forward of the friendly lines," the citation said.