The President Can’t Kill the Mueller Investigation - Jack Goldsmith - Lawfare

The President Can’t Kill the Mueller Investigation - Lawfare
by Jack Goldsmith (Harvard Law School)

One of the most remarkable stories of 2017 was the extent to which President Donald Trump was prevented from executing his many pledges—both on the campaign trail and in office—to violate the law. As predicted, courts, the press, the bureaucracy, civil society and even Congress were aggressive and successful in stopping or deterring Trump from acting unlawfully.*

But will these checks continue to work in the new year?

The biggest concern lies in threats to Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation of “any links and/or coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the campaign of President Donald Trump,” and related matters. The worry is that Trump or his senior associates may have engaged in law-breaking or some form of electoral corruption, and could get away with it. The Mueller investigation involves the executive branch investigating itself, including the president. The president sits atop the executive branch and has made clear from the beginning that he detests the Mueller investigation. In recent weeks anxiety that Trump may kill the investigation has reached a fever pitch as the president and other partisans have ratcheted up attacks on Mueller, the Justice Department and the FBI. And that was before Trump a few days ago claimed the “absolute right to do what I want to do with the Justice Department.” (He also said many times in the interview that he thought Mueller would treat him fairly.)

We don't yet know whether Trump acted unlawfully or wrongfully, or how close (if at all) Mueller will get to him, his business or his family. But Mueller’s probe appears to be “fast approaching a critical crossroads.” This year, we will find out whether Mueller has damaging goods on the president. Let’s assume that the investigation goes in a direction that Trump is inclined to shut down. I believe that what we learned in 2017 should give us confidence in 2018 that Trump will not be able to terminate the Mueller investigation.***