Ryan Advises Against Firing Mueller: 'Not in the President's Interests'
After multiple Republican leaders warned President Donald Trump on Sunday not to fire Special Counsel Robert Mueller, one in particular added to the warning, saying that it might not be necessary anyway.
Speaker Paul Ryan said he didn’t believe there was a need to warn the president about the repercussions of firing Mueller because he didn’t think Trump would do so in the first place.
Speaking on NBC‘s “Meet the Press,” Ryan was pressed as to whether he would bring a bill to protect Mueller from firing to the House floor if it were to pass the Senate.
“I don’t think it’s necessary,” Ryan said. “I don’t think he’s going to fire Mueller.”
“First of all, I don’t think he should be fired,” said the Wisconsin Republican, who elaborated his stance on the special counsel investigating Russian interference during the presidential election of 2016. “I think he should be left to do his job, and I don’t think they’re really contemplating this.”
“We’ve had plenty of conversations about this,” he added. “It’s not in the president’s interest to do that. We have a rule of law system. No one is above that rule of law system.”
However, Ryan’s answer came just days after White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said that Trump believed he would be in the right to fire Mueller if it came down to it.
As reported by NBC News, the recent FBI raid on Michael Cohen, Trump’s personal lawyer, had effectively upended negotiations for the president to have a sit-down meeting with Mueller’s team.
And lawmakers on both sides have insisted that firing the special counsel would be a bad move — and look — for the president, who fired former FBI Director James Comey just last May.
When asked if Comey is a man of integrity as he claims to be, Ryan merely said, “as far as I know.”
“I’ve met him two or three times in two or three briefings. I don’t really know the guy,” Ryan said. “I’m not trying to be evasive. But what I don’t want to do is join some food fight, some book-selling food fight. I don’t see any value in that.”
Comey is currently readying his book tour, as his highly debated memoir “A Higher Loyalty” is to be released Tuesday.
Comey’s interview with ABC airs Sunday night, where the former FBI director will be seen answering questions on the portions of his career before, during and after the 2016 presidential election.
In his book, Comey said the 45th president reminded him of a “mafia boss” who demanded loyalty from his followers while feeling as if the whole world were against him. He also accused Trump of being a frequent liar.
“His leadership is transactional, ego-driven and about personal loyalty,” Comey wrote. He also said Trump was “untethered to truth and institutional values.”
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