Mueller has some bombs fully ready for detonation if he is fired.

[tableturner]

It won't just be the ability of state governments to prosecute without a chance for presidential pardons. I would bet a lot of money that he and his crew have a protocol in place for actions to take if a firing or other outright obstruction occurs.

What if he has a slew of indictments ready to be unsealed the moment his firing or another highly obstructive move takes place? There probably are indictments sealed for now to protect the investigation. If the Republicans fire Mueller, a nuanced protection of the investigation will be rendered moot, and the reasons for any indictments being sealed will be superseded by an immediate existential threat to any prosecution.

Imagine: There is a bulletin on TV telling you Mueller has been fired. Thirty minutes later another bulletin lets you know that the Office of Special Counsel (Mueller's cohorts still on the job) has unsealed and handed down dozens of serious indictments of Trump's crew, along with multiple serious unindicted co-conspirator charges (not just obstruction) aimed at Trump himself.

Two main forces will then be at play. First, there will be a hugely negative reaction to the firing by the public and certain officials, some of them mainstream Republicans, that will turn into an explosion. Second, the public will learn of Trump's and crew's serious criminal actions, doubling or tripling the explosion.

Game over. The justifications for the firing of Mueller will be exposed as nonsense. There will be a double explosion of public anger at Trump and the Republicans because of the firing and the unsealed indictments, and Trump and crew will be doomed.

[Mme. Defarge]

1. Hmmm,

I’ce Been wondering about just such a scenario.

[OliverQ]

2. Unless people are going to burn down the Capitol

Public outcry and marches won't be enough to convince Republicans to do the right thing.

[tableturner]

3. The outcry and marches would be like nothing seen before....and they would work.

The reactions would make even the largest Vietnam demonstrations pale in comparison. A true explosion would occur.

[regnaD kciN]

10. I wish I could see that happening...or maybe I don't...

...because, if such marches broke out, you'd probably see the administration declare martial law and send in the troops to deal with the marchers. (Below, you mention 10,000 people encircling the White House. If that were to happen, I suspect you'd see 5,000 corpses after the National Guard had taken "regrettable but necessary measures to restore order." ) But I actually think the reaction of most people would be a shrug and an "oh, well, we already knew that Trump was corrupt as hell, but what are you going to do?" as they return to their big-screens or smartphones.

[pbmus]

12. Unfortunately agree, we have crossed over to ....

[Duppers]

14. My thoughts too but overly cynical I think.

Are there any sane republicans left who would step in to stop such slaughter, as there are generals who say they'd disobey a nuclear first-strike order?

[pangaia]

4. Repubs are NOT voing to do the right thing. Never again.

They are the enemy of the state, even as they become the state.

[tableturner]

5. To go further, I could see 10,000 people surrounding the White House shouting lock him up!

The capitol and most major cities would be shut down.

Edited to add: Thousands would surround capitol hill, too.

[Sophia4]

6. Trump made a big show of his announcement to move our embassy in Israel

to Jersusalem.

That may be his decision to make.

But if he was trying to suggest that he can remove the sanctions that Congress has placed on Russia without congressional action, I believe he is wrong.


Article I, section 8 of the Constitution specifically grants to Congress the power "regulate commerce with foreign nations."

https://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/article

I don't believe that the president has the authority to ignore or contravene or independently act contrary to laws passed by Congress with regard to foreign trade, that is "commerce with foreign nations."

Trump has to obey the law passed by Congress with regard to sanctions on Russia.

If he made some sort of deal with Russia to the contrary, if he told them that he alone could change our laws with regard to trade with Russia, he erred, he made a terrible mistake. IF that is what Russia's interference in our election was about, Russia also made a terrible mistake. Our system does not work that way. Our Constitution is very specific about it.

That's my opinion. I'm not the Supreme Court, but that is the way I read the Constitution.

Of course, maybe the Russia interference in our election was about something else. I don't know.

[Fiendish Thingy]

7. I believe Grand Juries alone can hand out indictments

So if Meuller has convinced a GJ to indict, and has those sealed until the appropriate time, they can't be tampered with even if he is fired and the special counsels investigation is shut down.

Messing with an already seated grand jury, or their indictments, is one of the clearest, most egregious forms of obstruction there is.

[regnaD kciN]

8. But where are those sealed indictments being held?

If they're in the Special Prosecutor's office, odds are that Trump would have had people loyal to him seal off those offices before announcing Mueller's firing (as Nixon did during the Saturday Night Massacre). Then he could send Sessions down there to have a nice little shredding party that night. "Indictments? What indictments? There weren't any to be found."

[tableturner]

9. Sealed indictments have been sealed by and with the court....they can't be stopped.

[Duppers]

15. Duplicates are in various vaults, I'd bet.

Mueller knows how TRump's unscrupulous mind works and what's at stake for our republic.

[diva77]

11. How will this get past the wingnut media juggernaut?

[tableturner]

13. To hell with the wing nut juggernaut! The rest of the press will do fine.

[Kablooie]

16. But couldn't the Justice department put Trump toadies in charge of prosecuting these?

So all the charges, at least all the ones that would be problematical to Republicans, would essentially be nullified.