Is this right? T can't fire Mueller directly? He has to do it thru someone? Eg, SatNiteMassacre

[bobbieinok]

[dhol82]

1. Yup, has to go through Rosenstein

Beautiful, ain’t it?

[rzemanfl]

2. Yep. n/t

[shanny]

3. yup.

And only for "good cause." Good cause doesn't include, "Mueller is scaring me."

[Girard442]

4. Depends how far Trump wants to go.

He could arrest Mueller, fr'instance. Assaulted a police officer or some such thing.

[NastyRiffraff]

5. Watergate's Saturday Night Massacre:

The “massacre” stemmed from an inquiry into the notorious June 1972 break-in at the Watergate complex, in which five Nixon operatives were caught trying to bug the Democratic National Committee headquarters. Archibald Cox, a Harvard law professor and former U.S. solicitor general, was tapped to investigate the incident in May 1973. He soon clashed with the White House over Nixon’s refusal to release over 10 hours of secret Oval Office recordings, some of which implicated the president in the break-in. On October 20, 1973, in an unprecedented show of executive power, Nixon ordered Attorney General Elliot Richardson and Deputy Attorney General William Ruckelshaus to fire Cox, but both men refused and resigned their posts in protest. The role of attorney general then fell to Solicitor General Robert Bork, who reluctantly complied with Nixon’s request and dismissed Cox. Less than a half hour later, the White House dispatched FBI agents to close off the offices of the Special Prosecutor, Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General.
http://www.history.com/news/ask-history/what-was-the-saturday-night-massacre

Since the AG, Jeff Sessions, supposedly recused himself from anything Russia-related, the deputy AG, Rostenstein, has to fire Mueller. If he refuses, which he hinted he would, it goes down the line in the Justice Dept.

[Nevernose]

6. Theoretically he could change the regulation arbitrarily

n/t

[bobbieinok]

8. So to fire M, he has to do it thru someone who is in proper line?

He can't just get off Fox, turn to the nearest person, and say 'Fire Mueller.'

Would it be easy to do in recess?

[Nevernose]

10. He could theoretically just change the reg

The one that says that he has to go through Rosenstein first? That's a regulation, currently, not a law.

Theoretically he could could just say "that's not the regulation anymore" and fire Mueller.

Real world consequences? With a GOP congress? Probably depends on if their tax bill is passed first.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

12. I think that would lead to instant impeachment & conviction...

In which case, here's hopin the Traitor-in-Chief DOES fire Mueller.

[marylandblue]

13. Actually, he can't arbitrarily change the regulation

He'd have to order DOJ to go through a rulemaking process under the Administrative Procedures Act. This usually takes a minimum of a few months and includes opportunity for public comment. The rule itself would be subject to judicial review for whether the change was "arbitrary and capricious." Also it would be questionable as to whether a new rule could reverse an appointment made under an old rule.

[Nevernose]

14. But it COULD be done

There would be a public comment period (theoretically). Judicial review comes down to paragons of judicial scholarship such as Thomas and Gorsuch, so not a lot of faith there.

It wouldn’t be instantaneous, but it COULD be done.

[sofa king]

15. But he doesn't have to because there's a Bork down the line somewhere.

I got a fuckin' citation for all you damned lawyers out there: The Years 2001-2009, Inclusive.

Until you guys can square that with your bullshit law books, which do not apply to the privileged or to Republican politicians, not a damned one of you can guess what's going to happen.

I want every one of you to remember that while this goes down.

[Hoyt]

7. I think he can say you are fired, but wont get away if someone says you cant do that.

But, I think it is too late now, assuming Trump ever really thought about doing so. He knows that would just intensify investigation.

[quartz007]

9. Can Trump fire Rosenstein & Sessions?

[DemocratSinceBirth]

11. He can only fire the Special Counsel for cause.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=9996396