Trump Investigated

The appointment of a special counsel opens the legal path to impeachment

With the naming of a special counsel, charged with investigating whether Donald Trump has obstructed an official investigation into his relations with Russia, the situation of the president of the United States has changed. It is now no longer a question of opinions, based on facts and statistics, about the president’s behavior in relation to the law; it goes much further than that. The appointment of Robert Mueller, director of the FBI from 2001 to 2013, as special counsel, is the first legal step of what could end in Congress removing Trump from office — impeachment. It is a process which could lead to Trump having to choose between resigning or appearing in front of a political judge in Congress, unprecedented in the country’s history.

Once again, the incumbent in the White House has shown signs of a total and reckless failure to understand the responsibilities of the position he holds. His opaque relationship, and that of a large number of his team, with Russia, a rival great power to the U.S., is a topic of extreme gravity. As much as Trump tries to deflect the controversy and give the appearance of normalcy to the intimate relationship he has with Putin, neither his campaign team’s contacts with the Kremlin nor his intelligence leaks on terrorism to Moscow are acceptable. Even less so is his response, thuggish and raucous, to accusations over his relations with Russia and the pressure he piled on FBI Director James Comey, in order to protect himself and his subordinates from the investigation.*

If the head of the FBI was indeed threatened and pressured in an attempt to get him to abandon the investigation into the relationship between the Kremlin and Michael Flynn on Feb. 14, then we have witnessed a serious crime. The subsequent and sudden dismissal of Comey does not help dispel doubts about the president’s behavior, and it is this that Mueller must now investigate. It is a question which could become the point around which the aforementioned constitutional wheels to remove the president from office begin to turn.

Although he hopes to, Trump cannot insulate himself from a political climate which grows ever more precarious with every passing day. His own Republicans have already begun to talk of Watergate, the scandal which, on Aug. 8, 1974, led to Richard Nixon’s resignation when he found himself facing a vote on his dismissal on the grounds of obstruction of justice. Talk has also turned to his would-be successor, Vice President Pence.

It is also worth mentioning the president’s ridiculous claim that “no politician in history has been treated more unfairly.” The list of people who stand above him in this regard is endless. Rather than spouting nonsense on Twitter, Trump ought to cooperate fully with the authorities, adhere to the law and clear up exactly what has happened with regard to some of these serious incidents.

*Editor’s note: President Trump fired FBI Director James Comey on May 9, 2017.