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WASHINGTON, DC – Republican Senator Jeff Flake said Wednesday that he would not vote to confirm judicial appointments, unless GOP leaders vote on a law to protect the special advocate, Robert Mueller, of the dismissal.
Flake of Arizona and Delaware Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware went to the Senate on Wednesday and tried to get the bill passed. But the majority leader in the Senate, Mitch McConnell, is opposed. McConnell said the bill was not necessary because he thought Mueller would not be fired.
Flake and Coons called to vote after the departure of Attorney General Jeff Sessions. President Donald Trump dismissed the sessions last week and temporarily replaced him with a loyalist, Matt Whitaker, who criticized the Mueller investigation. The Special Investigator's investigation investigates Russia's interference in the 2016 presidential election and Russia's ties with Trump's Republican campaign.
"It's not a moment for our leadership to be weak, unresolved or compromised in any way," Flake said, adding that "the President now has this investigation in sight and we know it. all".
Flake, who is retiring in January, said he would not vote to confirm the judges in the Senate or to remove them from the committee before the vote on the Mueller bill. He said he would continue to come to the Senate to ask for one.
McConnell objected without comment. But he said earlier Wednesday that he had never heard anyone in the White House suggest closing the investigation.
"I think it's not in danger, so I do not think legislation is needed," McConnell said.
The decision by Flake and Coons comes more than a year after the presentation of the bipartite law and highlights the deep concerns of many lawmakers about Trump's comments on Mueller's investigation. Trump has repeatedly called the probe a "hoax" and addressed personal criticism to the former director of the FBI. These concerns were only magnified when Trump appointed Whitaker Acting Attorney General.
Whitaker now oversees the investigation, which had previously been overseen by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. Rosenstein told Congress that he saw no reason to dismiss Mueller.
The sessions were challenged to oversee Mueller because he had been working on the Trump campaign. The decision of the sessions made Trump furious.
Several other Republicans said they would vote for the bill. They include Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley, Senator of Maine Senator Susan Collins, and co-sponsors of the GOP Bill, Senator of South Carolina Lindsey Graham and Senator from North Carolina. Thom Tillis.
The Democrats, who will win a majority in the House in January, have also said that protecting the Mueller inquiry would be one of their top priorities. With Senate Democrat Leader Chuck Schumer, they called for the Special Advisers Bill to be added to a year-end spending bill to be passed in December to avoid a partial closure. of the government.
Bipartite legislation to protect Mueller was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee in April. This would give any special advocate 10 days to apply for expedited judicial review of a dismissal and bring into force the existing Department of Justice Regulations that a special advocate may be dismissed only for just cause. .
Despite the support of the GOP, it is not clear whether the measure could garner 60 votes in the Senate – let alone that Trump would sign a bill containing the bill.
On Tuesday, Grassley said that he would leave the decision to McConnell but that "he should be put to the vote, I would vote for this bill." Graham, who is close to Trump, said he was not expecting Mueller to be fired, "but it would probably be good for this legislation to be in place only for the future." Tillis said that he was talking to other senators about how they could possibly get there.
Collins said the passage of the bill "would send a powerful message that Mr. Mueller must be able to finish his work unhindered."
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