Friday, February 2, 2018

Engel, House Democrats Work to Protect Mueller Investigation with H.R. 3654, the “Special Counsel Independence Protection Act”


  Congressman Eliot L. Engel and House Democrats are working to protect the integrity of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into the Trump-Russia ties by sponsoring legislation designed to insulate the Special Counsel from interference and arbitrary action by the President.

H.R. 3654, the Special Counsel Independence Protection Act, would limit the President’s ability to unilaterally end the Mueller investigation by requiring that a Special Counsel may be removed only upon the following conditions:
1. The attorney general files an action in federal district court in Washington, D.C., and files a contemporaneous action with the House Judiciary Committee and the Senate Judiciary Committee; and,
2. A panel of three federal judges sitting in Washington, D.C., finds removal appropriate based on a finding of misconduct, dereliction of duty, incapacity, conflict of interest or other good cause. 

“According to various reports, the President has already demonstrated his willingness to fire Robert Mueller, which would trigger a Constitutional crisis,” Engel said. “If the President is willing to go to those lengths to hide the truth surrounding the Trump-Russia scandal, then Congress has no choice but to act in defense of our Constitution and country by passing legislation to stop him.

“The Mueller investigation must be allowed to continue unimpeded, and House Republicans need to stop shielding the White House from scrutiny by stifling our efforts. Protecting the integrity of our country shouldn’t be a partisan issue. Yet right now we have a Republican party that is openly trying to discredit the FBI by releasing a highly misleading, dishonest memo, all for their own political gain. Their behavior is shameful and all the more reason why we must protect Robert Mueller and his team at all costs.”  

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