The Washington Post reports the probe led by special counsel Robert Mueller into Russian interference in the 2016 election has widened to include a closer look at the president’s actions.
It’s unclear how the revelation of Mueller’s expanded investigation will affect the long-term survival of his inquiry. Trump considered ousting the special counsel in recent weeks, only to be talked out of it by virtually the entire White House staff. Under Justice Department rules, Trump cannot fire Mueller directly—that power is held by Rosenstein as acting attorney general. (Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from the investigation in March.) Rosenstein assured Congress at a hearing on Tuesday that Mueller has “full independence” and that he would not fire him without “good cause,” which DOJ rules narrowly define as “misconduct, dereliction of duty, incapacity, conflict of interest, or … violation of departmental policies.”