Former House Republican: Trump deserves to be ‘impeached’ if he fires Mueller

Former GOP Rep. Joe Walsh (R-Ill.) on Sunday said if President Trump fires special counsel Robert Mueller during his ongoing Russia investigation, then the president will “deserve to be impeached.” 

If President Trump fires Robert Mueller, he will be impeached.

And he will deserve to be impeached.

— Joe Walsh (@WalshFreedom) December 17, 2017

His tweet comes after rumors intensified last week that Trump planned to fire the chief investigator, who is leading the federal probe looking into whether Trump campaign aides colluded with Moscow during the 2016 presidential election.

Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.), a member of the House Intelligence Committee, said Friday in an interview that “rumors” circulating around Capitol Hill suggest the president may have plans to fire Mueller before Christmas, once Congress breaks for the winter recess.

A White House lawyer handling Trump’s response to Mueller’s investigation, however, denied the rumors. 

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“As the White House has repeatedly and emphatically said for months, there is no consideration at the White House of terminating the special counsel,” Ty Cobb said in a statement to Politico.

Walsh, who is known for his candor and for disagreeing with the GOP establishment, has repeatedly defended Mueller against Republican attacks on his investigation.

“When I grew up, the FBI were the good guys, and the Soviet Union were the bad guys. I watch Fox News today, and they tell me the FBI are the bad guys, and Russia are the good guys. Such bullshit,” Walsh wrote on Twitter earlier this month.

He also called on Fox News to stop “badmouthing” Mueller, who he described as an “American hero” in a separate tweet.

The discussion of Mueller’s fate at the Justice Department comes as his team begins to infiltrate the inner group of President Trump’s supporters and family.

Michael Flynn, Trump’s former Trump national security adviser, pleaded guilty earlier this month to lying to federal agents about his Russian contacts.

Fox News and conservatives have ramped up their attacks against Mueller in recent weeks.

Trump and his supporters have called Mueller’s investigation a “witch hunt” and suggested it’s politically biased. Recently, Trump defenders have seized on news reports that Mueller removed FBI agent Peter Strzok from his team after an investigation revealed that the veteran agent sent anti-Trump text messages last year, during the campaign.

However, Mueller has wide-spread bipartisan support for continuing his investigation.