Jed Shugerman was quoted in a Slate article where he discusses if President Trump can fire Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein after the Department of Justice announced indictments of Russians for meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
Jed Shugerman of Fordham Law School reminds me via email that the fact that the optics have changed doesn’t mean Rosenstein is actually safe. “Until Congress passes a veto-proof bill to protect Mueller from firing without cause, what makes Trump think that there would be a significant cost to firing Mueller or Rosenstein?” Shugerman asks. “Every indictment raises the stakes of obstruction but also increases the chance of a temper tantrum firing with no clear consequences until Congress changes hands. If Congress can’t pass a Mueller statute, in the very least the Senate Intelligence Committee needs to make a more public stance.”