GOP/INTELLIGENCE/RUSSIA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “A senior Republican senator said Thursday [7-27-17] he is crafting legislation to protect the independence of the special counsel investigation into Russian activity during the 2016 election, a response to President Donald Trump’s criticism of the probe, which he has called a ‘witch hunt.’
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) told reporters Thursday that he will introduce a bill next week that would curtail the power of the president to fire a special counsel under some circumstances without approval from a federal judge.
The legislation will say that ‘a special counsel cannot be fired when they were impaneled to investigate the president or his team unless you have judicial review of the firing,’ Mr. Graham said. He said the legislation would apply to Mr. Trump and future presidents.
‘We need a check and balance here,’ said Mr. Graham, who as a member of the House of Representatives in the 1990s helped manage impeachment proceedings against Bill Clinton over perjury and obstruction of justice allegations.
According to a January report from the U.S. intelligence community, Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election was directed at the highest levels of its government. Its tactics included hacking state election systems; infiltrating and leaking information from party committees and political strategists; and disseminating through social media and other outlets negative stories about Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and positive ones about Mr. Trump, the report said.”
-Byron Tau, “Top Republican Says He’s Writing Bill to Protect Special Counsel Probe,” The Wall Street Journal online, July 27, 2017 01:37pm