By Dustin Rowles | Politics | June 12, 2017 |
By Dustin Rowles | Politics | June 12, 2017 |
Every day that Trump is President is a bad day for America, but it’s hard not to take joy in bad days for Donald Trump, and every day seems like a bad day for Donald Trump lately.
To wit: According to his buddy Newsmax CEO, Christopher Ruddy, Trump is considering firing the special prosecutor.
Chris Ruddy to @JudyWoodruff: President Trump is considering firing special counsel Robert Mueller, who he considered for another position. pic.twitter.com/X4IIHlh8at
— PBS NewsHour (@NewsHour) June 12, 2017
This is something Trump can technically do, but it would be difficult. He’d have to order Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein to do it, and he’d have to have cause to do so. Or he could order the special counselor regulations to be repealed and fire him that way.
Yes, Trump could have Mueller fired as special counsel, says @neal_katyal, who wrote the rules https://t.co/ntmd3E0Vwu pic.twitter.com/xdXR76WihL
— Mark Berman (@markberman) June 13, 2017
It’s a bad idea politically, no matter how he might do it. Indeed, the very idea that Trump might want to fire Bob Mueller looks terrible, which is why the White House communications office is pushing back now, saying that Ruddy “speaks for himself.”
My guess is that Ruddy also speaks for Trump’s desires, but the White House is trying to curb those desires.
Source close to Trump says the president "is being advised by many people" NOT to fire special prosecutor Robert Mueller.
— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) June 12, 2017
Meanwhile, even Republicans in the Senate are saying that this would be an “extraordinarily unwise move.”
Funny, even if Trump does fire Mueller, well, it would prove fruitless, according to the ranking member of the Senate Intelligence Committee.
If President fired Bob Mueller, Congress would immediately re-establish independent counsel and appoint Bob Mueller. Don't waste our time.
— Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) June 12, 2017
— As we mentioned earlier today, the Jeff Sessions hearing tomorrow will now be a open hearing, thanks to Democratic pushback. One of the big questions that will be put to Sessions is information about a third undisclosed meeting with the Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak (which I have now written often enough that I can spell it from memory!) Apparently, that meeting was a meet-and-greet at a small cocktail event. Sessions did not disclose the meeting during his confirmation hearings (nor did he mention the other two meetings with Kislyak).
— How bad is Trump at being President? I’m sure most of you have already seen this, but for those who have not, it’s worth posting. Today, Trump assembled his entire cabinet, brought in the press, and allowed them to film his cabinet members effusively praising Trump for a full, embarrassing 11 minutes. To wit, here is Priebus:
Trump went around table listening to his Cabinet praise him
— Bradd Jaffy (@BraddJaffy) June 12, 2017
Reince: “We thank you for the opportunity & the blessing…to serve your agenda” pic.twitter.com/3MPQq4CIiq
Honestly, we expect it from Trump, but it’s humiliating for the cabinet members who agreed to it (note that Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats used his time to praise his intelligence officials, including those he “inherited,” while Mattis also spoke not of Trump, but of the service and sacrifice of the men and women in the military).
Anyway, Chuck Schumer offered up the ultimate troll job:
WATCH: OMG Chuck Schumer made a parody video of Trump cabinet meetings. pic.twitter.com/qi3z6bGVE0
— Yashar Ali (@yashar) June 12, 2017
— There’s a new Twitter account called Kellyanneleaks, which is exactly what it sounds like: It reports on conversations eavesdropped from Kellyanne Conway, whose lips are rather loose at parties. There’s a strong suggestion that Conway herself is the White House leaker. She also apparently hates Reince Priebus.
— The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals is the latest to knock down Donald Trump’s travel ban, citing both Trump’s tweets and a Sean Spicer statement to the effect that Donald Trump’s tweets constitute official White House statements. It’s so much fun to use their actual words against them.
— Finally, while his approval numbers fall at a trickle, Trump’s disapproval numbers have matched an all-time high.
Gallup: Trump's disapproval rating ties all-time high
— Bradd Jaffy (@BraddJaffy) June 12, 2017
Approve: 36%
Disapprove: 59%https://t.co/8i79sYe7fx pic.twitter.com/h60TFBOMQl
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