Call the navigator
Trump longs and craves and pines and yearns to see a special counsel investigate something something something Hunter Biden, but it’s a little tricky in the last weeks of a lame duck presidency.
President Donald Trump is pushing extensively for the appointment of special counsels to separately investigate his baseless allegations of voter fraud and allegations surrounding Hunter Biden, the son of the President-elect, according to people familiar with the matter.
I wonder if it ever occurs to him that an investigation of his baseless allegations would simply underline the fact that they’re baseless. “Please please please investigate my fake claims! You’re sure to find something even though my claims are fake!!”
Justice Department rules say a special counsel must be named by the attorney general, though Trump has quizzed his team whether he could name one himself, according to one person familiar with the matter.
Sir no sir.
If the incoming acting attorney general, Jeffrey Rosen, refuses to appoint the special counsels at Trump’s request, the President could fire him, the people said.
Score!
Next step:
Uhhh….
But Trump administration lawyers likely can navigate past those requirements by appointing someone to act like a special counsel even if the requirements aren’t all in place, as Barr did in giving special counsel powers to John Durham, the Connecticut US attorney reinvestigating the Russia investigation.
“Navigate past those requirements” is an interesting way to put it. “Ignore the rules” would be a slightly less interesting way.
And in other ‘Republican Dangerously Petty Behaviour’ news:
Because that’s exactly what’s needed by a nation caught up in an out-of-control pandemic: a government unable to function because spiteful children led by the mother and father of all spiteful children have the power to cripple it for shits and giggles and because four years ago they were expected to follow some basic rules about filing financial disclosures and ethics reports before being allowed to ruin the country.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/senate-republicans-joe-biden-cabinet-chuck-grassley-b1775677.html
And Chuck Grassley just returned to Congress after his bout with COVID. You’d think he’d be feeling more inclined to act like a responsible adult…
Setting aside Trump being an absolute ass – and Jeff Rosen being a sniveling fascistoid sycophant.
I’ve heard actual legal experts (@popehat) talking about how it is actually not a bad idea with a special council for the Hunter Biden investigation.
There is an active investigation going on right now – for Tax Evasion, as far as I recall – which is not a branch of the election based witch hunt.
Since HB’s father will soon be president it is not beyond the pale to set up an independent investigation.
We know that Trump uses the Justice department as his own private police force, and we assume Biden will step back and let the Department run as normal – however there is no loss in putting in safeguards to remove even the appearance of bias.