Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) has had it with special counsel Robert Mueller. The latter's investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 president election is a partisan hack job, Gaetz portended on the House floor this week.
The threat to democracy is serious, Gaetz said.
"We are at risk of a coup d'etat in this country if we allow an unaccountable person with no oversight to undermine the dually elected president of the United States," he said.
Mueller, Republican critics have charged, is too close with former FBI Director James Comey. Furthermore, these same critics ask, what did Mueller know about the Fusion GPS investigation into Trump and Russia?
The "indisputable conflicts of interest" are too much, Gaetz says of Mueller. He needs to go.
"I'm calling for Mr. Mueller's resignation or his firing" pic.twitter.com/rEpobJCn8V
— RepMattGaetz (@RepMattGaetz) November 8, 2017
Gaetz added that the Department of Justice needs to instead appoint a special counsel to look into the Clinton Foundation and the Uranium One scandal.
Gaetz's colleague Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ) issued a similar directive this week. The Russian collusion claims are a big "nothingburger" he said. For instance, the FBI indictments against Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort and his business associate did not mention the Trump campaign. As for the charges against former Trump foreign policy advisor George Papadopoulous, who lied to the agency about his Russian contacts, Trump dismissed him as a "low level volunteer."
"The main point is this Mr. Speaker, at least James Comey, the media, and the Democrats -- desperately want collusion to exist between Trump and Russia," Franks offered in conclusion.