Thread by Seth Abramson about what to do if Trump fires Meuller

[Maraya1969]

Link to tweet

I've only posted about 1/2 of what he has written in this thread. It is too long to put here but it is well worth the read.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


1/ Trump cannot legally fire Bob Mueller. First, because that authority resides exclusively with Acting Attorney General Rosenstein; second, because even as head of the Executive Branch, Trump cannot exert his power for a criminal purpose. Firing Bob Mueller would be Obstruction.

2/ Mueller has seen all the evidence against Trump and his associates; the public has seen only a fraction of it. I can say—as a former criminal attorney and investigator researching this case since 2016—no exculpatory evidence has been found. All evidence points toward guilt.

3/ Further confirmation of this is that we don't hear from the media or Congressional Republicans any evidence—even claims—that Trump and his associates are innocent. We hear nothing but scurrilous attacks against the investigators. This is what people who know they're caught do.

4/ For these reasons—and because Trump can't legally fire Mueller—you should assume the Special Counsel will refuse to be fired directly by Trump if Trump attempts to do this. Instead, he will issue a statement saying that authority to end his investigation lies with Rosenstein.

5/ Rosenstein just made clear, via Congressional testimony, that he won't fire Mueller without cause, and presently sees no cause to do so. What this means is that Trump would have to fire Rosenstein in order to rid himself of Mueller. But Trump may elect more dangerous options.

6/ Trump knows firing Rosenstein and ordering Rachel Brand (next up at DOJ) to fire Mueller is a fool's errand: first, because Brand would likely refuse, as Mueller has done nothing to warrant being fired; second, because she's read history books—she knows this is Nixonian graft.

7/ While Trump could eventually find someone at DOJ to fire Mueller—he can just keep firing attorneys until he gets a stooge to do his bidding as the late Robert Bork did for Nixon—he could also seek recourse in an executive order he issued that arguably lets him name his own AG.

[sellitman]

1. Most important thread on Twitter

I have it pinned.

Great job bringing it here for exposure.

[Irish_Dem]

2. I agree, an extremely important thread. nt

[Bayard]

3. Excellent analysis

And conclusions, laid out in plain language.

[sweetloukillbot]

4. You DO know this guy isn't a Constitutional scholar

He's a creative writing professor.

[Maraya1969]

5. Apparently he is several things, including attorney.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seth_Abramson



Life[edit]
Currently an Assistant Professor of English at the University of New Hampshire at Manchester, Abramson is a graduate of Dartmouth College (1998), Harvard Law School (2001), the Iowa Writers' Workshop (2009), and the doctoral program in English at University of Wisconsin-Madison (2010; 2016).[1] He writes a blog on contemporary poetry for The Huffington Post and is a regular columnist for Indiewire.[3][4][5] Abramson's Indiewire column focuses on films, television programs, and video games informed by metamodernism.[6][7] Publishers Weekly notes that Abramson has "picked up a very large following as a blogger and commentator, covering poetry, politics, and higher education, and generating a controversial, U.S. News-style ranking of graduate programs in writing."[8] Before entering academia, Abramson was an attorney for the New Hampshire Public Defender and a commentator for Air America Radio.

[GoCubsGo]

6. "This is what people who know they're caught do. "

Yes. This. And, getting Mueller fired would be erecting a huge, flashing neon sign that says "WE ARE GUILTY!!!" They are pretty much screwed, whatever they do, IMHO. The fact that the republican Congress is silent suggests to me that a bunch of them probably members of the "guilty" contingent, as does their willingness to shove that abomination of a tax bill down our throats without knowing what is in it, and without having it scored.