Activists plan nationwide protests to protect Mueller probe

Progressive groups are organizing hundreds of protests across the country on Thursday calling for special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation to be protected after President Trump installed a new official to oversee the probe.

Under the banner “Nobody Is Above The Law,” the coalition of progressive activists led by the group MoveOn has called for people to gather in cities at 5 p.m. Thursday in an effort to protect the investigation and Mueller himself.

The group has argued that Trump’s naming of Matt Whitaker as acting attorney general, who will in turn will take over oversight of the federal Russia investigation from Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, crossed a “red line set to protect the investigation.”{mosads}

Whitaker, who has served as outgoing Attorney General Jeff Sessions’s chief of staff, has been a sharp critic of Mueller’s probe in the past, prompting multiple Democratic lawmakers to raise concerns that he could undermine the Russia investigation in his new role.

“Given his record of threats to undermine & weaken the Russia investigation, Matthew Whitaker should recuse himself from any involvement in Mueller’s investigation,” House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said on Wednesday. “Congress must take immediate action to protect the rule of law and integrity of the investigation.”

The progressive groups are demanding that Whitaker immediately remove himself from oversight of the Mueller investigation.