If you’re Trump — and you’re kind of given to conspiracy theories — wouldn’t you at least wonder whether Mulvaney was trying to help move his old Hill buddy Pence a step closer to the presidency? Mulvaney can’t be deposed under WH rules, but he pointed a finger at POTUS publicly.
It would be an immaculate political coup. Perhaps Mulvaney would be forced to testify at some point — SCOTUS decides privilege doesn’t extend to this question — and simply tell what he knows (which he has now strongly hinted at).
The number of potentially impeachable acts Mulvaney addressed is jaw-dropping. He even went into impoundment, which, last I checked, violates the Budget and Impoundment Act of 1974 that he cited if it was done for policy rather than administrative reasons — to pressure Ukraine.
As the OMB director, Mulvaney could reasonably be assumed to be aware of the distinction beteeen a legal deferral of spending to make sure the money lasts — made by career officials — and a political decision made by appointees to withhold funds for policy reasons.
Maybe Mulvaney, who wangled himself a White House chief of staff job after being anti-Trump, just had a bad day at the office on camera in front of the entire country. But is that how Trump’s going to see it?
