Not above the law

President Trump’s spokeswoman told reporters this week that POTUS believes he has the authority to fire Robert Mueller, the special counsel in charge of the investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 general election.

That narrative from the White House comes just a day after federal agents raided the office, home and hotel room of Trump’s personal attorney, Michael Cohen, for financial records related to business ventures and payments made to two women who say they had an affair with the president. The president’s response: that the subpoenas were “an attack on our country.”

It also corroborates reporting over the past year by major newspapers that Trump on more than one occasion has been trying to figure out how to do just that.

In fact, on the same day White House press secretary Sarah Sanders made that assertion, reports surfaced that the president had explored firing Mueller back in December, following erroneous reports that the special counsel had subpoenaed Deutsche Bank for his financial records with that financial institution.

But it’s not the first time the commander in chief has debated ousting Mueller, a retired FBI director and longest-running director of that agency since J. Edgar Hoover. The president sought to do the same thing back in June, when he believed the special counsel was entertaining the idea of bringing an obstruction of justice case against him. At the time, White House counsel Don McGahn, reportedly the person Trump tasked with canning Mueller, threatened to quit his job. The president backed off as a result.

But POTUS is at it again, and seems to be under the impression he’s above the law. He’s mistaken, and the only way to determine whether he’s criminally liable or not is to see the investigation through to its conclusion.