A number of commentators have noted that the indictment of 13 Russians and 3 organizations announced yesterday in the Trump- Russia probe have had the effect of ensuring the survival of Special Counsel Robert Mueller and Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein and the probe itself. The richly detailed, highly credible forensics displayed in the indictment highlighted this as an investigation concerning a foreign adversary's attack on American democracy -- a hard thing to be against unless you're, say, a Russian asset. It's strength as a legal document has also had the desired effect of driving a stake into the heart of un-indicted co- conspirator Donald "Rump" Trump's risible and self- serving pronouncements that this has all been a "hoax" engineered by Democrats.
Neo- con Jennifer Rubin says that, because of the credibility of the indictments, "It will be exceptionally hard, if not impossible, for Trump now to fire Rosenstein or Mueller."
Noah Bookbinder and Norm Eisen elaborate on the same point:
This indictment also makes it still harder for the president to fire Mueller. The special counsel now has outstanding charges, either through pleas or indictments, against 17 people and three organizations ranging from lying to investigators to a complex scheme to undermine the integrity of a U.S. presidential election. It can hardly be said that he has been ineffective, and it is difficult to imagine that a decision to fire him at this point could be seen as anything other than an effort to interfere with an investigation of the greatest national significance.
Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY), ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, sums up why any interference from now on by the un- indicted co- conspirator would be seen as full blown treason:
"...At this point, any step President Trump may take to interfere with the Special Counsel’s investigation—including removing Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein, or threatening to remove Special Counsel Mueller directly—will have to be seen as a direct attempt to aid the Russian government in attacking American democracy.”
It's not a stretch to say this also now applies to Rump's enablers, like Nunes and Grassley -- and this chinless wonder, who deserves an investigation into his own actions.
Lawfare's Ben Wittes has a must- read article on the indictments here. In the end, Wittes tweets there's one thing for certain:
From Mueller's point of view, however, it is another huge show of informational strength. The public—and the President—should understand this indictment as the small tip of a very large iceberg in terms of what Mueller knows and what evidence and intelligence he has.— Benjamin Wittes (@benjaminwittes) February 17, 2018
