Connecticut’s Fourth District Representative Jim Himes believes Congress has an opportunity this week to afford legal protection for special prosecutor Robert Mueller in the face of increasing attacks against him by President Donald Trump.
Mueller is investigating possible meddling by Russia in the 2016 election. He recently subpoenaed documents from the Trump business organizations.
Trump tweeted Monday that he believes the Mueller investigation is a "total WITCH HUNT."
A total WITCH HUNT with massive conflicts of interest!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 19, 2018
Congress this week is going to vote on an omnibus spending bill.
Speaking to MSNBC, Himes said one strategy could be to attach statutory protection for Mueller to that bill. “It could be interesting to see if it were put into that, because I think on that basis alone any number of Republicans would be flushed out for not wanting to cross this president in that way,” he said.
But he also cautions that Democrats shouldn’t over-promise on a strategy of brinksmanship.
“There are a whole lot of Democrats who would say, 'Hey let’s not do what we did four weeks ago, which is give people the hope that for example, we’re going to shut down the government, or make it look like the president is shutting down the government because he didn’t do what he said he would for the dreamers on the DACA fix,'" he said. "That didn’t work that last time around.”
