President Trump should dump Rosenstein

Posted

Bob Woodward's new book, "Fear," and a review of President Donald Trump's record indicate that Trump sometimes swerves at the last minute, betraying his own good instincts and listening to insider advisers.

Now is not the time to falter. Trump should use this to get rid of Rod Rosenstein once and for all. Don't be conned into keeping him.

Rosenstein, by suggesting - in jest or otherwise - that he wear a wire while meeting with the president, by discussing a legal coup d'etat through the 25th Amendment and by giving loose reins to Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller, has shown himself to be Trump's mortal enemy. Disloyalty doesn't begin to describe it.

Until now, it has been politically dangerous for Trump to fire Rosenstein and hazardous to suggest a replacement. But now, Rosenstein's pathological hatred of all things Trump has carried him over the edge and given the president all the excuse he needs.

And waiting in the wings is the currently serving solicitor general, the next in line after Rosenstein, Noel Francisco, whom Sen. Ted Cruz reportedly suggested for the Supreme Court vacancy. Francisco would be loyal to Trump. His record suggests an ideological affinity and a partisan sense of identity.

For Trump to believe that he can still work with Rosenstein and even control him, now that Rosenstein's fate rests so clearly in the president's hands, is delusory.

The Mueller investigation into Trump's supposed collusion with Russia has run out of gas in the middle of its journey. He has convicted Paul Manafort and forced Michael Cohen into a guilty plea. But the frauds Manafort committed in Ukraine and the payments Cohen used to silence Stormy Daniels have nothing to do with Russian meddling; they are simply place holders. They are meant to convince Washington that Mueller still has a role, even with the total absence of information about his primary task: to investigate Russian collusion with Trump.

It's important that Trump not use the current Rosenstein imbroglio to fire Mueller. Let him run out of gas and be stranded. Don't make a martyr of him. Don't let the left add to its mythology that they lost the 2016 election because of Russia. Expose the bankruptcy of the change by letting Mueller follow through and falter.

Then, use the new deputy attorney general to aggressively attack the other matter from which Attorney General Jeff Sessions has recused himself: Hillary's emails and Pay for Play at the State Department. Investigate the FBI and the DOJ. Get testimony from Bruce and Nellie Ohr. Grill Lisa Page and Peter Strock. Indict former FBI Director Andrew McCabe and investigate the real scandal in Washington - the attempts of the deep state to overthrow the elected president.

2018 DICK MORRIS AND EILEEN MCGANN

DISTRIBUTED BY CREATORS.COM