Warner calls on Congress to protect Mueller after McCabe’s firing

Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) said on Saturday that all members of Congress need to defend special counsel Robert Mueller, after a report suggested that President Trump’s lawyer wanted Mueller to be fired.

“Every member of Congress, Republican and Democrat, needs to speak up in defense of the Special Counsel. Now,” Warner wrote in a tweet.

Every member of Congress, Republican and Democrat, needs to speak up in defense of the Special Counsel. Now. https://t.co/bg9pVtkdOv

— Mark Warner (@MarkWarner) March 17, 2018

Trump’s personal lawyer, John Dowd, told the Daily Beast that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein should end special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election. He appeared to compare Mueller to former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, who was fired on Friday night.

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His comments come one day after Attorney General Jeff Sessions fired McCabe after an internal watchdog review. Sessions said McCabe gave the media information without authorization and lacked “candor” with investigators.

“I pray that Acting Attorney General Rosenstein will follow the brilliant and courageous example of the FBI Office of Professional Responsibility and Attorney General Jeff Sessions and bring an end to alleged Russia Collusion investigation manufactured by McCabe’s boss [former FBI Director] James Comey based upon a fraudulent and corrupt Dossier,” Dowd told The Daily Beast in a statement, referring to the “Steele dossier” that Republicans say prompted the ongoing Russia investigation.

Dowd initially told the Daily Beast that he was speaking as Trump’s counsel but then walked back his statement to say he was speaking in his personal capacity.

McCabe has denied the claims against him and said he was fired to undermine Mueller’s ongoing probe.

Prior to being fired, he faced months of criticism for his role in the FBI’s investigation into Hillary Clinton. Trump had accused him of being biased against him, pointing to McCabe’s wife, who ran for office in Virginia as a Democrat in 2015 and had accepted donations from a top Clinton ally.

The White House has denied Trump has any plans to fire Mueller and continues to cooperate in his investigation.