Government

The 'Target' Of Mueller's Report Ought To Be Paul Ryan And Mitch McConnell

The Constitution places ultimate responsibility on Congress to keep us safe from the executive, no matter what Republicans in Congress try to tell you.

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(Photo courtesy of Getty Images)

Will Donald Trump become a “target” of Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference with the last election? Or will he remain a “subject.” If we try really hard, can we make him a “predicate” or even a “preposition”? Collusion — DJT Twitter — allowed Russians to interfere with the election.

The Washington Post revealed that, as of a month ago, Robert Mueller viewed Donald Trump as a “subject” of his ongoing investigation, not a “target.” I could barely care less. The Justice Department has an ethical requirement to inform “targets” that they are ones before they sit down to talk with investigators. It makes sense to me that Trump is not now a criminal target, because the target — it would seem to me — has always been Trump’s campaign. Mueller is in the process of burying Trump’s former campaign manager, the relevant criminal question left is whether Paul Manafort wants to take all that weight himself. If he doesn’t, Trump will learn just how fluid the distinction between subject and target really is.

What I do care about is this reporting from the Post’s story:

Mueller’s investigators have indicated to the president’s legal team that they are considering writing reports on their findings in stages — with the first report focused on the obstruction issue, according to two people briefed on the discussions.

That. Makes. Sense.

I can’t really speak to whether or not a sitting president can be criminally indicted. I have an opinion, just like every other person with two thumbs and Westlaw access. Who knows? It’s complicated.

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Whether or not Mueller can indict the president, that’s not the preferred Constitutional remedy. What’s supposed to happen is that the investigators investigate and then make their findings available to the Department of Justice, which in turn makes those findings available to Congress, which has the CONSTITUTIONAL RESPONSIBILITY to protect the country from criminals and despots maundering in executive power.

If you think about it, the Mueller probe is proceeding like any internal investigation your law firm as ever been a part of. The lawyers and investigators come in, interviews are conducted, documents are reviewed, binders are made. When it’s done, the investigators dump a giant report on the desk of the CEO or the Board of Directors, sends out a bill, and takes a vacation to Aruba. It’s not on the internal investigative firm to fire the bad guy and drag him out of the office in handcuffs. It’s on the people who are responsible to the company or their shareholders to make the final decision.

Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell are the ones responsible to the American people. Whether or not Trump gets to stay in office is up to CONGRESS. If you really want to break the mind of a non-lawyer, ask them where in the Constitution does it say that a president cannot serve FROM JAIL? It doesn’t. It gives Congress the discretion to remove a president, not Judge Judy. Even if Mueller can indict the president, he has no authority to elevate Mike Pence. At some point, ALL OF THIS is going to be on Paul Ryan’s desk.

And nothing about Paul Ryan suggests that he has the guts to deal with it. Nothing about Paul Ryan suggests that he has the commitment to American principles to act. Paul Ryan’s the kind of guy who would send his wife to negotiate with the barbarian horde, so she could buy him some time to run away.

Mitch McConnell? Pfft. As long as long as the Department of Corrections allowed Trump to make judicial appointments during exercise hour, McConnell wouldn’t move to remove him.

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If Trump seems so bizarrely confident in the face of mounting legal concerns, it’s because he knows that he just has to give Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell a wedgie and they’ll fall right back in line. They are the Goyle and Crabbe to his Draco Malfoy.

Remember, it’s not just the collusion with the Russian government that would be grounds for impeachment in a normal democracy. Ryan and McConnell could pick from buffet of high crimes and misdemeanors, if they had the will to do so. Consider:

  • Trump admitted to obstruction of justice on television.
  • Trump and his family violate the Emoluments Clause like every single day.
  • Trump seems to be conducting low-grade securities fraud in his effort to devalue Amazon stock because he’s…
  • Trying to attack the First Amendment and eviscerate the freedom of the press.
  • And, oh yeah, Trump allegedly sexually assaulted multiple women.

After the 2018 midterms, Ryan’s abdication of his Constitutional responsibilities might not be as big of an issue, but McConnell’s almost certainly still will be. If I’m on Team Mueller, I’m really only thinking about one thing: how do I get the Senate majority leader to care one whit about executive malfeasance? How do I make Mitch McConnell treat his job more like a solemn responsibility, and less like an invitation to take from America what he wants?

And when you realize the answer is “not one damn thing,” you’ll realize that the “rule of law” is a concept that is already dead.

Mueller told Trump’s attorneys the president remains under investigation but is not currently a criminal target [Washington Post]

Elie Mystal is the Executive Editor of Above the Law and the Legal Editor for More Perfect. He can be reached @ElieNYC on Twitter, or at elie@abovethelaw.com. He will resist.

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