Thread by @kimwehle

The AG “may remove a Special Counsel for misconduct, dereliction of duty, incapacity, conflict of interest, or for other good cause, including violation of Departmental policies.” And the AG has to explain why in writing./2

Rosenstein has said there are no grounds for removal, and an acting AG (Whitaker) is not the AG, so removal likely has to wait until a new AG is confirmed, so Mueller should be safe for now./3

That said, Trump defies norms, conventions and laws, so firing Rosenstein and Mueller in defiance of the law is not out of the question. Congress would have to act. /4

The Republican Senate will likely confirm whomever Trump wants, so it will be up to the House to bring transparency and accountability to the White House, which will push back on subpoenas. /5

That would put things in the courts, which has been doing the heavy constitutional lifting for nearly two years now. It’s too bad more Americans don’t get that, without checks and balances, democracy loses. We all lose. /6

Let’s hope career professionals at DOJ-people like Rosenstein and Mueller-are allowed to do their jobs to completion. After today’s firing of Sessions, I’m not hopeful. /end