Democrats fret over GOP changes to Mueller bill

An amendment from Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) would, according to the Senate Judiciary Committee chairman, require additional reporting to Congress whenever the scope of the Mueller investigation or any other special counsel expands, as well as give Congress a heads-up if a special counsel is going to be removed.

{mosads}But Democrats are worried the amendment, as originally circulated to committee members, could give Congress the ability to try to exert influence over the investigation or even let President Trump’s allies in the Senate pass on information to the White House. 

Sen. Dick Durbin (Ill.), the No. 2 Senate Democrat, called the amendment a “deal-breaker.”

“We are worried about it because as originally written it would be a deal-breaker,” he said.

Asked what happens if the amendment gets attached to the bill, Durbin added “in its original form I don’t think Democrats will support it.”

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (Calif.), the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, separately told reporters this week that she would oppose the special protection bill “in its entirety” if the amendment is included in the legislation.

“There are three specific portions that I have problems with, and I believe others will have problems with,” Feinstein said.

The warning signs from Democrats come as the Judiciary Committee is scheduled to vote on the special counsel legislation on Thursday.

The legislation would codify that only a senior Justice Department official can fire Mueller. It would also give Mueller or any other special counsel the ability to challenge their firing. If a court determines that the firing wasn’t for “good cause,” they would be reinstated.

With most Republicans expected to oppose the bill during Thursday’s committee vote, the special counsel legislation will need Democratic support to pass the panel.

That could put senators in the position of either swallowing an amendment they don’t like or sinking a bill that they otherwise largely support.

Grassley’s amendment has circulated among members of the committee, but hasn’t been publicly released.

But key senators noted they are still actively negotiating over the amendment to try to defuse it and make it palatable to born sides.

Spokesmen for Grassley didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment about what potential changes to the bill are being discussed.

Asked about the status of negotiations, Grassley said on Wednesday afternoon that he thought they were going “OK, but they aren’t final.“

“I said to the Democrats, ‘I really want to vote for this bill and we can make some modifications to my amendment, but we can’t do anything that’s going to send a signal … that we’re somehow going to give an excuse to any executive branch in the future that maybe they can withhold information on our oversight requests,’” he said.

Grassley and Sen. Christopher Coons (D-Del.), one of the original sponsors of the Mueller bill, were spotted in a lengthy conversation ahead of French President Macron’s speech on Wednesday.

Coons told reporters after the speech that they are making “significant progress” but “aren’t yet there.”

“I had concerns with the original Grassley amendment. It has been revised,” he said. “I’m optimistic about the progress that has been made.”