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<\/a>Former FBI Director Robert Mueller, special counsel on the Russian investigation, leaves following a meeting with members of the US Senate Judiciary Committee at the US Capitol in Washington, DC on June 21, 2017. \/ AFP PHOTO \/ SAUL LOEB (Photo credit should read SAUL LOEB\/AFP\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n
10 Things to Hate About Mueller<\/strong><\/h1>\nA short list of very good, serious, totally factual reasons to be suspicious of the special counsel\u2019s motives.<\/em><\/h3>\nBY BENJAMIN WITTES, SUSAN HENNESSEY
\nForeign Policy<\/p>\n
Special counsel Robert Mueller\u2019s got everyone convinced he\u2019s such an upstanding public servant. In\u00a0The Threat Matrix<\/em><\/a>, Garrett Graff writes that \u201cboth political parties respect\u201d Mueller as \u201ca consummate law enforcement professional with a track record, forged in Vietnam, of grace under fire and getting organizations on track.\u201d<\/p>\nWhatever. Don\u2019t be fooled by Mueller\u2019s Boy Scout act. As his critics point out, if America is never great again, it\u2019ll be all Mueller\u2019s fault. We have to admit, they\u2019ve got some good points.<\/p>\n
Here are 10 perfectly reasonable \u2014 not at all crazy or imaginary \u2014 reasons to hate him:<\/p>\n
1. The guy\u2019s a leaker.<\/strong><\/p>\nBreitbart\u00a0says so<\/a>. Sure, Mueller\u2019s got a rep for rarely speaking in public or giving interviews. But behind the scenes he\u2019s obviously spending day and night dishing dirt on Donald Trump and the president\u2019s oh-so-honorable colleagues to any reporter who will listen. The deluge of daily stories disparaging President Trump, after all, began the day Mueller was appointed; before Mueller, Trump press coverage was constant sunshine and rainbows. Plus, it\u2019s clearly to Mueller\u2019s strategic advantage to have his investigative steps aired to the public in real time. Besides, who else would leak this kind of stuff? Only Mueller and his team have motive. The White House isn\u2019t a factionalist den of vipers; the president\u2019s legal team is a\u00a0well-oiled machine that never leaks<\/a>; defense lawyers are paragons of virtue. Don\u2019t even get us started on tight-lipped congressional staff \u2014 those guys never talk. The only logical explanation here is information about the investigation is coming from Mueller.<\/p>\n2. Mueller is a highly political actor.<\/strong><\/p>\nThank God, Newt Gingrich has seen through Mueller\u2019s act. He\u00a0tweeted<\/a>\u00a0recently that \u201cRepublicans are delusional if they think the special counsel is going to be fair. Look who he is hiring.check fec reports. Time to rethink.\u201d It\u2019s quite a rethink. Mueller is so political that he\u2019s spent his entire career going back and forth between politicians. He worked in the first George H.W. Bush administration as an assistant attorney general, then he was a prosecutor on murder cases in Washington, D.C., after running the Department of Justice\u2019s Criminal Division, and then he flip-flopped back to be a U.S. attorney in the Bill Clinton administration. Get this: He then goes on to run the FBI for both Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama (a bipartisan Congress even extended his term for two years at Obama\u2019s request).\u00a0The guy is so political he can\u2019t even decide which side he\u2019s on.<\/span><\/p>\nThe guy is so political he can\u2019t even decide which side he\u2019s on.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
3. Mueller is too thorough and taking too long.<\/strong><\/p>\nThis thing is seriously taking forever. Press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders\u00a0spoke for all of us<\/a>\u00a0in saying that, \u201cthe president is frustrated by the continued witch hunt of the Russia investigation and he\u2019d love for this to come to a full conclusion so that everyone can focus fully on the thing that he was elected to do.\u201d You and me, both, friend. Could Mueller go any slower? It\u2019s as if he\u2019s a highly methodical actor systematically gathering strings on multiple broad areas simultaneously: Trump-Russia collusion, Trump Organization business dealings, misconduct in the Trump campaign, and obstruction of justice. He needs to hurry this thing along. Trump just wants to be cleared without the fuss of an investigation. Wouldn\u2019t you? The president knows he is innocent and only wishes to spare us all the pain of this drawn-out ordeal. Of course, Trump recently\u00a0told the\u00a0New York Times<\/em><\/a>\u00a0that \u201cI\u2019m not under investigation. For what? I didn\u2019t do anything wrong.\u201d It\u2019s completely reasonable of Trump to be frustrated that this investigation \u2014 which doesn\u2019t exist \u2014 is taking so long and that Mueller is being so thorough about it.<\/p>\n4. Mueller is too aggressive and is moving too fast.<\/strong><\/p>\nSlow down, buddy. The\u00a0New York Times<\/em>\u00a0reported yesterday<\/a>\u00a0that \u201cThe moves against Mr. Manafort are just a glimpse of the aggressive tactics used by Mr. Mueller and his team of prosecutors\u201d and their \u201cshock-and-awe tactics.\u201d When Mueller isn\u2019t moving at a glacial pace, he\u2019s being unprecedentedly aggressive. The\u00a0Times<\/em>\u00a0reported clucking in the defense bar:<\/p>\nSome lawyers defending people who have been caught up in Mr. Mueller\u2019s investigation privately complain that the special counsel\u2019s team is unwilling to engage in the usual back-and-forth that precedes \u2014 or substitutes for \u2014 grand jury testimony. They argue that the team\u2019s more aggressive tactics might end up being counterproductive, especially if some grand jury witnesses turn out to be more guarded than they would have been in a more informal setting or invoke the Fifth Amendment.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
This well-meaning concern among defense lawyers for the effectiveness of Mueller\u2019s investigation is touching. When they aren\u2019t overwhelmed with concern Mueller is moving too slowly, they\u2019re worried sick that he\u2019s going too fast for his own good.<\/p>\n
5. He\u2019s hiring bad people with conflicts of interest.<\/strong><\/p>\nTrump warned us that Mueller\u2019s staff comprises \u201csome very bad and conflicted people<\/a>.\u201d Fact check: True. Some of Mueller\u2019s staff attorneys have indeed committed the iniquitous crime of donating to Democratic candidates. This is what matters. Ignore their famed careers as prosecutors or appellate lawyers. Ignore the Supreme Court clerkships. Mueller\u2019s staff actually are just human embodiments of contributions to Democratic candidates. No previous special prosecutor has ever employed people with political affiliations. We can\u2019t recall any Republicans in sight for Kenneth Starr\u2019s investigation, and Democrats absolutely fled from working for the Watergate special prosecutor and in the Iran-Contra investigation.\u00a0If Mueller\u2019s team isn\u2019t wearing #MAGA t-shirts to work underneath their suits, the whole endeavor is hopelessly biased.<\/span><\/p>\nIf Mueller\u2019s team isn\u2019t wearing #MAGA t-shirts to work underneath their suits, the whole endeavor is hopelessly biased.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
6. Mueller himself has conflicts of interest.<\/strong><\/p>\nMueller is the most conflicted one of all. Trump astutely pointed out that he\u2019d even agreed to discuss becoming FBI director again following Comey\u2019s dismissal: \u201cHe was up here and he wanted the job,\u201d\u00a0Trump told the\u00a0New York Times<\/em><\/a>. After he was named as special prosecutor, \u201cI said, \u2018What the hell is this all about?\u2019 Talk about conflicts. But he was interviewing for the job.\u201d Plus, Mueller\u2019s old firm also had clients involved in the investigation. The Justice Department reviewed those and found no problem with Mueller\u2019s current role, but what do those guys know anyway? And there\u2019s even more! Trump told the\u00a0Times<\/em>\u00a0that \u201cThere were many other conflicts that I haven\u2019t said, but I will at some point.\u201d When he does tell us, everyone is going to feel very foolish about trusting this Mueller guy.<\/p>\n7. Mueller keeps expanding his investigation.<\/strong><\/p>\nThe president warned Mueller that his investigation \u201cis about Russia<\/a>\u201d and it would cross a red line if he strays into areas like Trump-family finances. And yet, the prosecutor keeps having the temerity to stray beyond the lines that Trump \u2014 the conduct of whose campaign and company are the investigation\u2019s very subject \u2014 thinks he should be examining. It\u2019s possible Mueller just got confused by\u00a0his capacious mandate<\/a>\u00a0from Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, which gives him authority not merely over \u201cany links and\/or coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the campaign of President Donald Trump\u201d but also over \u201cany matters that arose or may arise directly from the investigation\u201d and any attempt obstruct the investigation. But clearly Mueller is trampling the time-honored legal principle that the subjects of investigations get to say which parts the police are allowed to investigate.<\/p>\n8. Mueller is best friends with Comey.<\/strong><\/p>\nA lot of people say this.\u00a0Here\u2019s Republican Rep. Trent Franks<\/a>: \u201cBob Mueller is in clear violation of federal code and must resign to maintain the integrity of the investigation into alleged Russian ties. Those who worked under them have attested he and Jim Comey possess a close friendship, and they have delivered on-the-record statements effusing praise of one another.\u201d\u00a0Here\u2019s blogger and law professor Glenn Reynolds<\/a>: \u201cSpecial Counsel Robert Mueller has a problem: He has a disqualifying conflict of interest regarding a large part of his work. It involves a choice between investigating or relying on former FBI director James Comey, a longtime close friend of Mueller\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\nSure, their actual premise is wrong<\/a>\u00a0and Comey and Mueller are not close friends. But never mind that. If we say it enough times, it will become true.<\/p>\nMueller and Comey certainly know each other. They ran the same federal law enforcement agency in sequence. They worked together when one of them was deputy attorney general and the other was running the FBI. And they appear to have a mutually respectful relationship. They\u2019ve probably even had lunch. And just as all of us maintain intimate personal friendships and unfailing loyalty towards all our former co-workers, so too is Mueller in the tank for Comey and incapable of remaining objective about President Trump.<\/p>\n
9. Mueller is a problem because he was appointed by Rod Rosenstein, who is a problem because he appointed Mueller.<\/strong><\/p>\n
BY BENJAMIN WITTES, SUSAN HENNESSEY
\nForeign Policy<\/p>\n
Special counsel Robert Mueller\u2019s got everyone convinced he\u2019s such an upstanding public servant. In\u00a0The Threat Matrix<\/em><\/a>, Garrett Graff writes that \u201cboth political parties respect\u201d Mueller as \u201ca consummate law enforcement professional with a track record, forged in Vietnam, of grace under fire and getting organizations on track.\u201d<\/p>\n Whatever. Don\u2019t be fooled by Mueller\u2019s Boy Scout act. As his critics point out, if America is never great again, it\u2019ll be all Mueller\u2019s fault. We have to admit, they\u2019ve got some good points.<\/p>\n Here are 10 perfectly reasonable \u2014 not at all crazy or imaginary \u2014 reasons to hate him:<\/p>\n 1. The guy\u2019s a leaker.<\/strong><\/p>\n Breitbart\u00a0says so<\/a>. Sure, Mueller\u2019s got a rep for rarely speaking in public or giving interviews. But behind the scenes he\u2019s obviously spending day and night dishing dirt on Donald Trump and the president\u2019s oh-so-honorable colleagues to any reporter who will listen. The deluge of daily stories disparaging President Trump, after all, began the day Mueller was appointed; before Mueller, Trump press coverage was constant sunshine and rainbows. Plus, it\u2019s clearly to Mueller\u2019s strategic advantage to have his investigative steps aired to the public in real time. Besides, who else would leak this kind of stuff? Only Mueller and his team have motive. The White House isn\u2019t a factionalist den of vipers; the president\u2019s legal team is a\u00a0well-oiled machine that never leaks<\/a>; defense lawyers are paragons of virtue. Don\u2019t even get us started on tight-lipped congressional staff \u2014 those guys never talk. The only logical explanation here is information about the investigation is coming from Mueller.<\/p>\n 2. Mueller is a highly political actor.<\/strong><\/p>\n Thank God, Newt Gingrich has seen through Mueller\u2019s act. He\u00a0tweeted<\/a>\u00a0recently that \u201cRepublicans are delusional if they think the special counsel is going to be fair. Look who he is hiring.check fec reports. Time to rethink.\u201d It\u2019s quite a rethink. Mueller is so political that he\u2019s spent his entire career going back and forth between politicians. He worked in the first George H.W. Bush administration as an assistant attorney general, then he was a prosecutor on murder cases in Washington, D.C., after running the Department of Justice\u2019s Criminal Division, and then he flip-flopped back to be a U.S. attorney in the Bill Clinton administration. Get this: He then goes on to run the FBI for both Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama (a bipartisan Congress even extended his term for two years at Obama\u2019s request).\u00a0The guy is so political he can\u2019t even decide which side he\u2019s on.<\/span><\/p>\n The guy is so political he can\u2019t even decide which side he\u2019s on.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n 3. Mueller is too thorough and taking too long.<\/strong><\/p>\n This thing is seriously taking forever. Press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders\u00a0spoke for all of us<\/a>\u00a0in saying that, \u201cthe president is frustrated by the continued witch hunt of the Russia investigation and he\u2019d love for this to come to a full conclusion so that everyone can focus fully on the thing that he was elected to do.\u201d You and me, both, friend. Could Mueller go any slower? It\u2019s as if he\u2019s a highly methodical actor systematically gathering strings on multiple broad areas simultaneously: Trump-Russia collusion, Trump Organization business dealings, misconduct in the Trump campaign, and obstruction of justice. He needs to hurry this thing along. Trump just wants to be cleared without the fuss of an investigation. Wouldn\u2019t you? The president knows he is innocent and only wishes to spare us all the pain of this drawn-out ordeal. Of course, Trump recently\u00a0told the\u00a0New York Times<\/em><\/a>\u00a0that \u201cI\u2019m not under investigation. For what? I didn\u2019t do anything wrong.\u201d It\u2019s completely reasonable of Trump to be frustrated that this investigation \u2014 which doesn\u2019t exist \u2014 is taking so long and that Mueller is being so thorough about it.<\/p>\n 4. Mueller is too aggressive and is moving too fast.<\/strong><\/p>\n Slow down, buddy. The\u00a0New York Times<\/em>\u00a0reported yesterday<\/a>\u00a0that \u201cThe moves against Mr. Manafort are just a glimpse of the aggressive tactics used by Mr. Mueller and his team of prosecutors\u201d and their \u201cshock-and-awe tactics.\u201d When Mueller isn\u2019t moving at a glacial pace, he\u2019s being unprecedentedly aggressive. The\u00a0Times<\/em>\u00a0reported clucking in the defense bar:<\/p>\n Some lawyers defending people who have been caught up in Mr. Mueller\u2019s investigation privately complain that the special counsel\u2019s team is unwilling to engage in the usual back-and-forth that precedes \u2014 or substitutes for \u2014 grand jury testimony. They argue that the team\u2019s more aggressive tactics might end up being counterproductive, especially if some grand jury witnesses turn out to be more guarded than they would have been in a more informal setting or invoke the Fifth Amendment.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n This well-meaning concern among defense lawyers for the effectiveness of Mueller\u2019s investigation is touching. When they aren\u2019t overwhelmed with concern Mueller is moving too slowly, they\u2019re worried sick that he\u2019s going too fast for his own good.<\/p>\n 5. He\u2019s hiring bad people with conflicts of interest.<\/strong><\/p>\n Trump warned us that Mueller\u2019s staff comprises \u201csome very bad and conflicted people<\/a>.\u201d Fact check: True. Some of Mueller\u2019s staff attorneys have indeed committed the iniquitous crime of donating to Democratic candidates. This is what matters. Ignore their famed careers as prosecutors or appellate lawyers. Ignore the Supreme Court clerkships. Mueller\u2019s staff actually are just human embodiments of contributions to Democratic candidates. No previous special prosecutor has ever employed people with political affiliations. We can\u2019t recall any Republicans in sight for Kenneth Starr\u2019s investigation, and Democrats absolutely fled from working for the Watergate special prosecutor and in the Iran-Contra investigation.\u00a0If Mueller\u2019s team isn\u2019t wearing #MAGA t-shirts to work underneath their suits, the whole endeavor is hopelessly biased.<\/span><\/p>\n If Mueller\u2019s team isn\u2019t wearing #MAGA t-shirts to work underneath their suits, the whole endeavor is hopelessly biased.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n 6. Mueller himself has conflicts of interest.<\/strong><\/p>\n Mueller is the most conflicted one of all. Trump astutely pointed out that he\u2019d even agreed to discuss becoming FBI director again following Comey\u2019s dismissal: \u201cHe was up here and he wanted the job,\u201d\u00a0Trump told the\u00a0New York Times<\/em><\/a>. After he was named as special prosecutor, \u201cI said, \u2018What the hell is this all about?\u2019 Talk about conflicts. But he was interviewing for the job.\u201d Plus, Mueller\u2019s old firm also had clients involved in the investigation. The Justice Department reviewed those and found no problem with Mueller\u2019s current role, but what do those guys know anyway? And there\u2019s even more! Trump told the\u00a0Times<\/em>\u00a0that \u201cThere were many other conflicts that I haven\u2019t said, but I will at some point.\u201d When he does tell us, everyone is going to feel very foolish about trusting this Mueller guy.<\/p>\n 7. Mueller keeps expanding his investigation.<\/strong><\/p>\n The president warned Mueller that his investigation \u201cis about Russia<\/a>\u201d and it would cross a red line if he strays into areas like Trump-family finances. And yet, the prosecutor keeps having the temerity to stray beyond the lines that Trump \u2014 the conduct of whose campaign and company are the investigation\u2019s very subject \u2014 thinks he should be examining. It\u2019s possible Mueller just got confused by\u00a0his capacious mandate<\/a>\u00a0from Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, which gives him authority not merely over \u201cany links and\/or coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the campaign of President Donald Trump\u201d but also over \u201cany matters that arose or may arise directly from the investigation\u201d and any attempt obstruct the investigation. But clearly Mueller is trampling the time-honored legal principle that the subjects of investigations get to say which parts the police are allowed to investigate.<\/p>\n 8. Mueller is best friends with Comey.<\/strong><\/p>\n A lot of people say this.\u00a0Here\u2019s Republican Rep. Trent Franks<\/a>: \u201cBob Mueller is in clear violation of federal code and must resign to maintain the integrity of the investigation into alleged Russian ties. Those who worked under them have attested he and Jim Comey possess a close friendship, and they have delivered on-the-record statements effusing praise of one another.\u201d\u00a0Here\u2019s blogger and law professor Glenn Reynolds<\/a>: \u201cSpecial Counsel Robert Mueller has a problem: He has a disqualifying conflict of interest regarding a large part of his work. It involves a choice between investigating or relying on former FBI director James Comey, a longtime close friend of Mueller\u2019s.\u201d<\/p>\n Sure, their actual premise is wrong<\/a>\u00a0and Comey and Mueller are not close friends. But never mind that. If we say it enough times, it will become true.<\/p>\n Mueller and Comey certainly know each other. They ran the same federal law enforcement agency in sequence. They worked together when one of them was deputy attorney general and the other was running the FBI. And they appear to have a mutually respectful relationship. They\u2019ve probably even had lunch. And just as all of us maintain intimate personal friendships and unfailing loyalty towards all our former co-workers, so too is Mueller in the tank for Comey and incapable of remaining objective about President Trump.<\/p>\n 9. Mueller is a problem because he was appointed by Rod Rosenstein, who is a problem because he appointed Mueller.<\/strong><\/p>\n