Special Council

“I hope you can let this go,” were the words that started a chain of events which has left the political world in turmoil over the past week.  It all started when an alleged memo quoting Donald Trump asking James Comey to end the investigation into Michael Flynn’s possible connection with Russia was leaked to the Internet.  Of course, the memo was a leak, and so its existence has not been fully confirmed.

White House officials are reported to have stated, “While the President has repeatedly expressed his view that General Flynn is a decent man who served and protected our country, the President has never asked Mr. Comey or anyone else to end any investigation, including any investigation involving General Flynn.” Whether that conversation ever happened or not, the result has been a political firestorm that threatens to engulf the Trump administration. Democrats are accusing Trump of obstructing justice, and Trump’s Republican allies are preparing to weather the coming storm. The climax of these recent incidents was Trump’s firing of FBI Director James Comey, on the recommendation of Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who sent Trump a memo which precipitated Comey’s firing.

Rosenstein’s final statement on the matter is this: “I wrote it. I believe it. I stand by it.” It was Rosenstein himself, however, who recently appointed former FBI Director Robert Mueller to head a special counsel to oversee the investigation of Russian government efforts to influence the presidential election. A special counsel sounds intimidating, but what is it? What may sound like a group of people is actually one person; specifically, a special counsel is a lawyer appointed to lead an independent investigation and prosecute anyone suspected of crimes.  According to the law, the Attorney General can appoint a special counsel under “extraordinary circumstances” or when in it is in the public interest to do so.

Ideally, the special counsel has to be as impartial as possible, and so a lawyer that is not involved in the political atmosphere is desired. Not only do Democrats, but also some Republicans, Senator John McCain included, have called for just such a special counsel. If Mueller finds anything incriminating, then he will be able to push for Trump’s impeachment. If he fails to find anything, and if future investigations also fail to turn up incriminating evidence, then perhaps Trump’s statement of being subject to a “witch hunt” will be corroborated. Only time will tell.