Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said Tuesday “it would be suicide” if President Trump ordered the firing of special counsel Robert Mueller.
“I have confidence in Mueller, the president ought to have confidence in Mueller, and I think, to answer your question, it would be suicide for the president to want to talk about firing Mueller,” Grassley said on Fox Business Network.
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“The less the president said on this whole thing the better off he would be, the stronger his presidency would be,” Grassley continued, adding that he believes the probe into possible collusion between Trump’s campaign and Russia in the 2016 presidential election is a “dead end.”
Trump on Monday lashed out at the Department of Justice and the Mueller probe following reports that FBI agents raided the office of his personal attorney, Michael Cohen.
Federal agents reportedly seized communications between Cohen and Trump, tax documents and records related to Cohen’s $130,000 payment to adult-film star Stormy Daniels meant to buy her silence about an affair she says she had with Trump more than a decade ago. The search warrants were obtained by federal prosecutors in New York City after they received a referral “in part” from Mueller.
The president called the special counsel’s investigation a “witch hunt,” claimed Mueller’s team was biased and said multiple people have suggested he fire the special counsel.
“We’ll see what happens,” Trump said.
Legal experts say Trump cannot directly fire Mueller. Instead, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein would have to fire the special counsel, since Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from the Russia investigation.
Grassley on Tuesday said that there’s not yet enough information about the raid to know if there are any issues with it.
“It looks to me like the only real issue is the extent to which lawyer–client relationship between Cohen and Trump might be violated,” Grassley said. “And I’m sure that the judge that gave the order that this raid could be made would be confident that would not be an issue.”
Trump’s frequent attacks on the special counsel have periodically sparked concern from Democrats that he will seek to fire Mueller before he can conclude his investigation into Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election and possible collusion between the Kremlin and the Trump campaign.
Republicans have brushed aside those concerns and rejected calls for legislation that would prevent Trump from firing the special counsel, saying such a measure is “not necessary.”
Trump reportedly ordered Mueller’s firing last June but backed off the idea when White House counsel Don McGahn threatened to resign.