House Dem moves to force vote on bill protecting Mueller

Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen (Tenn.) moved on Wednesday to force a House vote to protect the special counsel investigating Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election as uncertainty looms over whether Trump may fire Robert Mueller. 

Cohen’s petition asks for Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) to call a vote on a bill, called the Special Counsel Integrity Act, preventing the firing of Mueller without just cause.

Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen has filed a discharge petition to force a floor vote on a bill to protect Robert Mueller. pic.twitter.com/bjnemb0Qx5

— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) March 22, 2018

Cohen, a member of the House Ethics Committee, pointed to recent indicators that Trump may again be seeking to oust Mueller, after a previous attempt was thwarted by the president’s legal team. 

“Recent events particularly concern me because it seems the President fears that Mueller is close to revealing findings relevant to his mandate and that ending the investigation is the only way to prevent its public release,” he said in a statement Wednesday. 

{mosads}

Cohen was one of several Democratic lawmakers who introduced articles of impeachment against President Trump last year.

Cohen’s move to vote on the bill protecting Mueller comes after  FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe was fired last week by Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

President Trump praised the decision, and John Dowd, an attorney for Trump, called for the deputy attorney general to “bring an end” to the Russia probe shortly after McCabe’s firing.

Numerous lawmakers in both parties have warned Trump and his administration not to fire the special counsel over concerns of sparking an ethics crisis, including House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), who told Dowd that if he has an innocent client he should “act like it.” 

“The president maintains there was no collusion or obstruction of justice. Let’s let Mueller finish his job and find out,” Cohen added.