Naming Robert Mueller as special counsel isn't enough because Trump can get rid of him [View all]

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There is now credible evidence that President Trump pressed then-FBI Director James B. Comey to end the investigation of Michael Flynn, the administration’s first national security advisor. If true, Trump could be guilty of obstruction of justice. But there is no mechanism in place to ensure a truly independent inquiry of this or other possibly illegal actions by high-level Trump officials.

Congress should therefore renew the independent counsel statute providing for the appointment of a special prosecutor, one who cannot be fired by the president or the attorney general.

Without the protection of the independent counsel law, Trump can order Rosenstein to fire Mueller, and fire Rosenstein if he refuses.

On Wednesday, Deputy Atty. Gen. Rod Rosenstein announced he was appointing former FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III as special prosecutor to take over the Justice Department investigation of Russian meddling in the 2016 election. Without the protection of the independent counsel law, however, Trump can order Rosenstein to fire Mueller, and fire Rosenstein if he refuses.
Nor is an investigation by Congress or an independent commission enough. Criminal charges, if warranted, cannot be brought unless there is a prosecutor.

http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-chemerinsky-freedman-special-prosecutor-20170518-story.html