Schumer: 'Severe consequences' if Trump moves to shut down Mueller probe

[laserhaas]

Source: The HILL

Link to tweet

.
Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Saturday warned of "severe consequences" if President Trump moves to shut down the special counsel's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Schumer cited comments by Trump's personal attorney John Dowd on Saturday asking the deputy attorney general to "bring an end" to the "fraudulent" investigation he claimed was constructed to undermine the president.

"The president, the administration, and his legal team must not take any steps to curtail, interfere with, or end the special counsel's investigation or there will be severe consequences from both Democrats and Republicans," Schumer said in a statement.

Dowd called on Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to follow the "courageous example" of the FBI's internal watchdog that recommended former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe be fired. Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced McCabe's firing on Friday.

Read more: http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/378946-schumer-severe-consequences-if-trump-moves-to-shut-down-mueller?amp&__twitter_impression=true

[CentralMass]

1. Ok Chuck.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

15. You are not being helpful with your snide two word remark. . . . . nt

[CentralMass]

22. I would like to see Schumer make some statements about Mitch McConnels silence and in-action on this

Senate Dems need to start calling out their counterparts

There seems to be no fallout from anything Trump does..

No victories for the Democrats..this bill to weaken Frank-Dodd for instance. I've come to expect that this is the best thst we will ever see. Schumer constituency is obviously Wall St. and that constituency obviously was in favor of that Bill. While he didn't vote for it, he had no objection to 17 of his Democratic colleagues doing the heavy lifting.

That motion by Bernie Sanders and Amy Klobuchar to allow American to buy prescription drugs from Canada to be considered back in January was killed by 13 Democrats and when they were called out for it they voted for a related amendment a week or two later .

We even snatch defeat from the jaws of victory

[Hermit-The-Prog]

27. Senate rule XIX

See:

A Brief History of the Senate Rule That Silenced Elizabeth Warren

Russell Berman Feb 8, 2017

The prohibition on impugning a fellow senator dates back to a fistfight in 1902. But it’s an edict that is rarely, if ever, enforced.

[...]

“No Senator in debate shall, directly or indirectly, by any form of words impute to another Senator or to other Senators any conduct or motive unworthy or unbecoming a Senator.”

[...]

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/02/a-brief-history-of-the-senate-rule-that-silenced-elizabeth-warren/516042/

[CentralMass]

28. Chuck is an extremely bright man. He can call them out on the carpet if he choses to.

[Honeycombe8]

32. +1. Kirsten Gillibrand's vote...killed the prescription drug from Canada bill?

I hadn't heard that. She did?

[CentralMass]

40. I could have been mistaken and don't have the time so I removed that statement.

[2left4u]

2. LMFAO

A strongly worded letter to follow I'm sure.

[pnwmom]

11. What can he do besides speak out? Why are you blaming the Dem who spoke out

and not the GOP who didn't?

Whose water are you carrying?

[laserhaas]

20. We fight too much,

Where we need to focus on ....them.

Change Congress by 20 more seats; and the B.S. stops.

[2left4u]

24. BINGO!

[Honeycombe8]

33. Well, sort of. They still have the Senate.

But it ends the ramrod effect. The Dems still don't have the power to get 'er done, but they would have the power to stop the Repubs from their corrupt acts. If they chose to do so. Dems don't act with one mind as much as Repubs do.

[laserhaas]

38. Doublemindness is how we wound up with Drumpf

[DeminPennswoods]

21. Hold up all Senate business by refusing to agree to

unanimous consent, thus requiring a roll call vote for every motion.

[pnwmom]

23. Okay. What are we slowing it down for? No one has fired Mueller yet. n/t

[laserhaas]

39. The panic is the fact the scuttlebutt is, Mueller's next

Because he subpoenaed the Trump org details.

Desperate times - desperate measures

[DeminPennswoods]

43. The question was what can Schumer/Dems do

What they can do is bring Senate business to a halt by not agreeing to unanimous consent. The Senate runs on the waiver of unanimous consent to proceed.

[2left4u]

25. GUNGA DIN's

[duforsure]

3. Chuck needs to state

Where are the RepubliCONS on this now, and why have they said nothing?

[FreeStateDemocrat]

4. Dowd is a class act, another nasty, angry old whiteman:

Dowd defended hedge fund manager Raj Rajaratnam, founder of the Galleon Group, in his insider trading case.[30] Dowd flipped off a photographer in May 2011 following Rajaratnam's conviction, "Get the fuck out of here..."

[PJMcK]

16. Your title is confusing or incorrect

John Dowd is NOT a class act. He’s a vulgar, ignorant moron.

Otherwise, I completely agree with you!

[onetexan]

29. i think class act was used sarcastically

[briv1016]

5. Is this the same Schumer that caved during the shutdown in exchange for a promised DOMA vote?

How'd that work out?

[Honeycombe8]

34. Yes. He and Pelosi got taken on Trump's agreement re DACA. And then....

as if they were just born, the naivetee cont'd with Feinstein jumping with glee when Trump "agreed" to certain gun control laws, only to back out of that the next day, like the DACA agreement.

[meadowlander]

6. 4/5 first responses tearing down our own

instead of backing up the entirely correct statement he is making.

This is why we can't have nice things, Democrats.

Learn when is the right time to back your guy and when is the right time to snipe over unrelated things that happened months ago.

[laserhaas]

9. Fortunately, Senate Dems are already taking things

Pro-active.

I agree with your notes. We - too often - are far too mean

To our own...

[MBS]

18. Agreed, but. . .

Nevertheless, we've still got to come up with a workable Plan B to ensure that the "consequences" are real, and, well, consequential. I hope and trust that Schumer, Pelosi, Schiff, Warner, and other Democrats on the intelligence committees have been thinking about options for a while. And I suspect that their efforts have intensified over the last week.

Options that I see:
Somehow prevent any attempt to fire Rosenstein or Mueller ("how" is of course the question)
Or
Figure out a way to rehire Mueller in the Senate to continue his investigations there.
Or
Use any firing of Rosenstein or Mueller as the reason finally to start serious impeachment proceedings (I realize that the House has to do this, and, with this congress, hell would have to freeze first. . ).

. . Because, for the sake of our country's survival, by some mechanism or another
- the full truth of this sordid mess (Russian entanglements; money laundering; obstruction of justice; lying to the FBI etc; must come out
-There have to be serious efforts to thwart meddling (by both Republicans and Russians) into 2018 election
and
-the criminals/traitors in the White House have to be brought to justice.

[CentralMass]

19. His letter is certainly a positive thing.

[2left4u]

30. ?

I'm a Dem because we actaully believe our representatives are held accountable on substance.

I'm not saying that Schumer hasn't done a good job.
IMHO just because they have a (D) next to their name doesn't give them a pass on action, not words per issue..that's the difference between us and the GOP I feel.

Progressives would, and never have rallied around a flawed candidate (like Trump) who was so ethically and morally opposite of their views for the sake of capturing a win at the expense of a nation.

Our values are not for sale..we care about our country and it's citizens, ALL OF THEM; our representatives are held accountable issue after issue.
.
That's why I'm a proud Liberal and Dem

[Honeycombe8]

35. We don't know that. Have you heard any Republican make that statement lately?

Graham made a statement something like that a while back, and said he's propose a bill requiring Congressional approval before Mueller can be fired. There was no bill passed. I guess the Repubs told Graham what for after he said that.

[chuckstevens]

7. Deeds Mr. Schumer, not words!

[pnwmom]

12. Such as????? n/t

[Merlot]

8. Time for another sternly worded memo

[Honeycombe8]

36. Yes. Making sure not to criticize anyone, though. nt

[Golden Raisin]

41. And another dinner with Trump and Nancy Pelosi.

[JDC]

10. I'll give you such a pinch!

[procon]

13. Schumer is in the minority, he has no power or authority to do anything.

Unless the Democrats regain the majority, he's pretty much limited to issuing Tweets and Press Releases.

[BigmanPigman]

14. Think about the MID TERMS! GOTV!!!!! We must win!

[Polly Hennessey]

17. Like what?

[bearsfootball516]

26. I like his spirit, but until November, they're empty words.

[Honeycombe8]

37. Idle threats. If they dump Mueller, it'll be because they have assurances from Congress & Senate

that they won't take any action.

OR...they can appoint another special counsel to investigate Mueller. That'll keep Mueller busy, instead of investigating "the Rusher thing."

[msongs]

42. so, what are the severe consequences Mr. Schumer? and from republicans?? ok. nt