Mueller and the fate of the American public - Financial Times

by Edward Luce 
There are two words for those who think the US republic is teetering: Donald Trump. There is also a two-word riposte: Robert Mueller. While Mr Mueller stays in his job, the US system is working as it should. Credit where it is due. The single-minded former Federal Bureau of Investigation chief was appointed as special counsel by Mr Trump’s administration. If a nation’s politics is judged on how it responds to alleged crime in high places, America is acting in textbook fashion. In the words of his biographer, Mr Mueller is “America’s straightest arrow”. He is entrusted with the integrity of the system. Yet the temptation for Mr Trump to fire him grows by the day. It would be hard to think of anyone more inoculated against a smear campaign than Mr Mueller. Unlike many of his detractors, he fought in the Vietnam war. He was wounded but voluntarily returned to lead his platoon in combat. He won several medals, including a Purple Heart. At the FBI he oversaw the largest mafia investigation in history, which ended with the conviction of John Gotti, head of the powerful Gambino family. A registered Republican, he was appointed to head the FBI by George W Bush — a job he began one week before the 11 September attacks. Such a record tells you two things. Mr Mueller is an all-American hero and he will not be intimidated. He cuts the kind of figure Mr Trump normally admires — a tall, square-jawed, patriot straight from central casting. That, of course, is why Mr Trump wants to sack him. Mr Mueller has that zealous G-man quality that sends shivers down White House spines. Whatever Mr Mueller’s investigation turns up — anyone who thinks they know where it will end is bluffing — the process is unflinching. Ask Paul Manafort, Mr Trump’s former campaign manager, who was marched into court on Monday to hear 12 criminal counts against him. Or George Papadopoulos, Mr Trump’s former campaign adviser, who has pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI. Here is a public servant who actually believes in public service. Such virtues are normally celebrated by patriots. They are also what make it so hard to bring Mr Mueller down. The pro-Trump media are nevertheless trying to do just that. From Fox News to the Wall Street Journal, the goal is to pave the way for Mr Mueller’s dismissal by casting doubt on his objectivity. Their case rests on two thin reeds. The first is that Barack Obama asked Mr Mueller to extend his FBI tenure for the first two years of his presidency. That meant Mr Mueller was one of the nine agency heads, along with Hillary Clinton, who oversaw the clearance of the sale of a Canadian uranium mining company to a Russian one. Neither personally approved the transaction. Yet this notional overlap is exhibit A in the appearance of collusion between Mr Mueller and Mrs Clinton. The second is that Mr Mueller worked for a law firm that included several partners who gave money to the Democrats. Mr Mueller did not. Unlike the president, Mr Mueller is a life-long Republican. Mr Trump donated to both parties on many occasions. Should such standards apply, few prosecutors would make the grade. That is the sum of Mr Mueller’s alleged conflicts of interest. There is nothing there. But the campaign to tarnish his credentials is now the priority. From Fox News to the Wall Street Journal, the goal is to pave the way for Mr Mueller’s dismissal by casting doubt on his objectivity At this point two more words are relevant: Rupert Murdoch. Whatever doubts the conservative media baron had about Mr Trump are now forgotten. Any elected Republican who departs from this script would be risking career suicide. Mr Trump claims Mr Mueller is conducting a “witch hunt” against him. Mr Murdoch’s outlets clearly agree. They are thus rekindling a parallel witch-hunt against Mrs Clinton. My bet is that on this turf Mr Mueller is wilier than either of them. He has one job — to pursue whichever leads he deems relevant to the Russia collusion inquiry. He knows how to conduct an investigation. But it is Mr Mueller’s professionalism that most endangers him. The deeper he probes, the bigger the threat to Mr Trump. As the quip goes, Mr Mueller would indict his mother if he thought she broke the law. Did Mr Trump collude with Russia? We do not know. But in the course of his job Mr Mueller is examining Mr Trump’s business record, including his taxes. Mr Trump has said any inquiry into his commercial history would cross a “red line”. Mr Mueller is already doing that. He is playing a bold game. People in autocracies should watch him work. This is democracy in action. Some might say that Mr Mueller is putting “America First”. Alas, those two words may get him fired.