begin quote from:
Cillizza: A massive political risk for Trump and Republicans
A special counsel on Russia is an all-or-nothing deal for Republicans
He's now in charge of Russia investigation 00:45
(CNN)The decision by deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to appoint ex-FBI Director Robert Mueller as special counsel
to oversee the federal investigation into Russia's attempts to
influence the 2016 election and the possibility of collusion with Donald
Trump's campaign officials amounts to a pushing of all the political
chips into the center of the table.
It
is, without question, a massive political risk for the Trump
administration as well as Congressional Republicans -- and a risk
undertaken by a man in Rosenstein who hasn't been on the job for a month
yet. (The decision to appoint a special counsel comes from the Attorney
General. But Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from any
and all 2016 investigations due to his failure to disclose two separate
meetings with Russia Ambassador Sergey Kisylak during the course of
2016. Therefore, the decision on a special counsel fell to Rosenstein.)
What
had become clear over the past few days -- between Trump divulging
classified information to two top Russian officials, allegations he had
urged then FBI Director James Comey to drop the investigation into
former national security adviser Michael Flynn's ties to Russia and the
recused Sessions vetting candidates to succeed Comey -- was that no
ruling that would come out of the ongoing FBI investigation would be
accepted by the entire country. The congressional investigations into
the matter are expected to continue although it remains to be seen how
active they will be given the likely deference given to Mueller.
The
appointment of Mueller opens up the possibility that, regardless of the
ruling he reaches, the country might accept it as unbiased, fair and
factual. (The pick drew widespread bipartisan support from members of
the House and Senate.) In short: It might allow the country to move on.
"What
I have determined is that based upon the unique circumstances, the
public interest requires me to place this investigation under the
authority of a person who exercises a degree of independence from the
normal chain of command," Rosenstein said in a statement announcing the
decision.
Of
course, the unimpeachability of Mueller's reputation -- and the
likelihood that his investigation and its findings will be seen by the
bulk of the country as non-partisan -- is also what makes this such a
huge gamble for the Trump administration.
On
the one hand, the appointment of a special counsel gives Trump and his
campaign a chance at real and full exoneration. "As I have stated many
times, a thorough investigation will confirm what we already know --
there was no collusion between my campaign and any foreign entity,"
Trump said in a statement. "I look forward to this matter concluding
quickly."
As I've noted before,
Trump's opposition to a special counsel -- which the White House made
clear via press secretary Sean Spicer as recently as Tuesday -- never
made sense to me. If you believe you are truly innocent and talk of
collusion between your campaign and Russia is "fake news" created by
the Democrats and the media, you should be wholly in favor of an
independent investigation in order to validate that realty.
Trump will now get that chance.
On
the other hand, should Mueller's findings implicate senior Trump
campaign officials or even the President himself, it will be damn near
impossible to discredit those facts. All Democrats will need to do to
effectively rebut any attempt to question the findings is surface all of
the nice things Republican elected officials have said about Mueller
both tonight and in the past. That will make it very, very hard for
Republicans to not swallow the medicine that Mueller is doling out.
Republicans
-- from Trump on down -- will now live or die by what Mueller finds
out. Full exoneration is now possible. But so too is full guilt or
blame. Republicans' political fate -- in 2018 and perhaps 2020 as well
-- is now largely in Mueller's hands.
You
only make this sort of gamble when you believe the full faith and
confidence of the American people in their institutions is at stake.
Rosenstein clearly believed that all the water already under the bridge
on Trump and Russia forced his hand on that front -- and so he acted.
Now Republicans wait with bated breath to see what Mueller produces.
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