If Trump is ever going to fire Mueller, it will be this weekend.

[RandySF]

No sleep. No relaxation. Twenty-four hour vigilance.

[dhol82]

1. Yup. They now have the impetus.

Bunch of shits.

[dalton99a]

2. He will fire Mueller after his 'victory' in the Senate

[Eyeball_Kid]

60. Firing Mueller will do nothing. Investigations and court action will proceed.

Enough GOP pols will back Dem efforts. This has already gone way too far.

The GOP knows that the entire nation is really getting pissed. And the unified anger will fall on THEM.

[Irish_Dem]

3. What do you think will happen if Trump tries to fire Mueller?

Certainly Mueller has a contingency plan for this possibility?

[marylandblue]

5. He has a few options

1) Call all his friends on Congress and hope they back him.
2) Firing Mueller doesn't close the SCO, so they could issue a stack of indictments Monday.
3) Sue to get his job back (Most likely in my opinion)

[Irish_Dem]

9. Mueller would go to a federal judge to get his job back?

And would it end up at the Supreme Ct level at some point?

I think Congress won't help Mueller since Mueller is looking at members of congress in the investigation?

I would like to see the indictments go out on Monday, but it may appear retaliatory for being fired?

[marylandblue]

13. Yes, the regulations he was appointed under say he can only be fired for "good cause"

That term "good cause" is used in employment law to mean you have a legal right to keep your job unless you do something really stupid. So Trump would have to document what Mueller supposedly did. And that excuse would have to stand up in court.

[Irish_Dem]

22. So unless the federal judge was a Trump appointee, unlikely that the firing

would stay in place.

And if a Trump appointee accepts Trump's lame excuses and allows the firing,
that might be a judicial crisis of some sort, or Mueller could appeal?

At some point Congress might want to get involved before our whole system of government is tied in knots.

Thank you Maryland for answering all my questions.

[marylandblue]

26. Your Welcome, but one more thing

Doesn't matter who the trial court judge is. It will go to the Supreme Court and fast. Kennedy will be the swing vote, although Roberts has surprised us before and he could do it again.

[Irish_Dem]

28. I wondered how it would play out at the SC.

They screwed up with Gore, I wonder if they want to screw this up too?

[marylandblue]

35. I think they will not screw this one up

The Trump thing is at a whole different level. Letting him fire Mueller would be the end of the Republic. Republicans in Congress might be okay with that, but I don't think the Supreme Court is there yet.

[Irish_Dem]

38. I agree, the SC is likely to rule in Mueller's favor.

That is when Trump's mental status deteriorates even further.

Right now everything is half law, half psychology.

[Volaris]

47. I agree with this. Despite being a Corporatist,

Roberts likes to think of himself of as a Protector or the Institution that is The Court. Unless there's some kind of technicality he could pry open to wiggle through, he won't fuck around with something like this....it's too historic.

[Irish_Dem]

48. Yes, exactly. nt

[Vilis Veritas]

51. if Trump tries to fire Mueller this weekend and indictments are handed down on Monday, meaning

they were in process before the firing, then obstruction is clear and Mueller stays.

if not, then hit the streets as this is clearly a coup...

[rainin]

52. I heard some indictments were filed but sealed.

I suspect one of them is for Trump for this very possibility. I believe Mueller is preparing for this.

[Irish_Dem]

66. So if Trump tries to fire him, Mueller unseals the indictments.

I think Mueller is one step ahead of Trump at all times.

[Irish_Dem]

65. Anything is possible at this point. Hopefully Kelly can exert some pressure

on Trump to act rationally.

[unblock]

8. he's sharing information with state attorneys general

may not help with some things that are exclusively federal crimes, but i'm sure donnie's violated plenty of new york (at least) laws over the years.

so even if donnie can shut down a federal tax evasion case, schneiderman can still get him for doing the same thing on his new york taxes.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

33. But...the new tax law will hurt trump SO bad

He won't have any money for NY to recoup

[unblock]

43. Believe me! His accountants are so mad!

[Drunken Irishman]

54. I actually think it would lead to the beginning of the end for Trump.

It's why he hasn't done it just yet. If he fires Mueller, even some of the hardcore allies he has in the House & Senate will push for impeachment. Not all - but enough to lay the groundwork for it. That'll escalate the situation and force further cries for his resignation. Right now, there's still plausible deniability. It's what the GOP can hang on to while saying they still support the idea of letting things play out. IF he fires Mueller, though, all bets are off.

[MFM008]

4. YES

I agree.

[marylandblue]

6. Would he be dumb enough to do it Saturday Night too?

[RandySF]

7. Look for the dumbest scenario possible

[unblock]

10. dumb enough to think that would be quite clever of him.

[Irish_Dem]

11. Certainly he cannot be this stupid. nt

[Irish_Dem]

23. I think it is possible that Trump will have a total break down.

Given his psychopathology it is not uncommon when stressed to the extent he is right now.

[annabanana]

27. I think it is possible he already HAS.. . . . n/t

[Irish_Dem]

29. Yes exactly, the reports that he is delusional, and no longer in touch with

reality, indicate that he is now psychotic.
So he is having a break down as we speak.

This is not a good situation, as I also believe he will become more dangerous as he decompensates.

[Irish_Dem]

39. Active duty military officers recently publicly stated they would not follow a nuke

order from Trump. That is when I knew the end was near for Trump.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

36. Not according to Turtle or Graham

[Irish_Dem]

40. Then they are sounding psychotic too. Or sociopathic. nt

[dalton99a]

12. If there is a choice that is dumb and vile, Trump will choose it

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

14. He can't fire Mueller.

This has been brought up more than once here.

[obnoxiousdrunk]

17. +100 ... N/t

[Irish_Dem]

24. Does Trump know that? He thinks he can do anything he wants. nt

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

30. It doesn't matter what Trump thinks he knows.

He can't fire Mueller.

[Irish_Dem]

31. Could Trump confiscate Mueller's files and lock his office? nt

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

32. Do you suppose his file exist in only

one location?

Everything is electronic these days, and I'm willing to bet there are many, many copies out there.

Plus, do not underestimate Trump's ego. Even if he actually comprehends that people around him are going down, he'll expect he'll still be standing at the end. Other people are not entirely real to him. The degree and intensity of his narcissism cannot be overstated.

[Irish_Dem]

37. I am quite familiar with the psychopathology and it is quite possible that Trump

is now delusional, psychotic. He is quite grandiose and his narcissism knows no bounds as you point out.

That is why I think he is capable of doing what the rest of us think he cannot do.

And yes I assume Mueller has files hidden elsewhere. His history shows he has an uncanny sense about his enemies and stays one step ahead of them.

Right now all of this is half law, half psychology.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

57. I'm sure I don't want to know what you think he is capable of.

I believe that quite recently someone in the military said in effect, "We won't launch nukes on Trump's say so." I hope I'm right about that.

Or even if no one said it, I hope desperately that if he tries to do such, cooler heads will prevail.

And I absolutely agree that he is now delusional, possibly psychotic.

[Irish_Dem]

61. Yes active duty high ranking military said they will not launch nukes on Trump's orders.

This is serious when active duty are saying that....

Right now Trump is a wild card.
Hard to predict what he will do next.

[PJMcK]

42. Of course not!

There are documents and charges that have been filed in the courts.

How would Trump be able to "disappear" those official documents?

[Irish_Dem]

44. He couldn't disappear those docs, but he could try something erratic.

Reports this week describe him as psychotic.

[onenote]

50. so you think Trump is going to go over there and personally lock Mueller's office?

Please come back to reality.

[Irish_Dem]

62. I am facing the reality that Trump is said to be psychotic at this time.

And he could be erratic. And no of course he would not do it personally.
One of his minions would.

[MoonRiver]

70. Being psychotic does not allow him to do the impossible!

He does not have the legal authority to fire Mueller. He needs the AG to do that, which means he has to first fire Sessions and find a compliant toady who will do his bidding. Even the Repukes have promised a firestorm if he fires Sessions. Plus, it would be hard to find someone willing to destroy their career to take the AG job and later go down in flames with Dotard in Chief. I think the best that idiot can do is pardon everybody involved. Then the states take up the cases, and they probably won't be nearly as agreeable to these criminals as Mueller.

[Irish_Dem]

71. Trump is a wild card right now. Not sure what he will do. nt

[MoonRiver]

72. Again, he can't do the impossible!

Much as he would like to be, he is NOT God.

[Drunken Irishman]

55. No. But he can trigger the firing similar to what happened under Nixon.

He could fire the deputy attorney general and then fire Mueller himself - or order the special-counsel regulations repealed and fire Mueller himself.

Both would send the US into a near-constitutional crisis, however.

[Irish_Dem]

67. Trump would't care if he creates a crisis or not.

He would do whatever he could to save his own skin.

Never thought we would have another Nixon situation, unbelievable.

[mnmoderatedem]

16. I'm more of a glass half empty kinda guy regarding political corruption

but I don't think there's any realistic way trump can fire Mueller at this point.

[NCTraveler]

18. If he could...

I’m pretty sure Mueller has what he has at this point. Clearing up a lot of details and making sure nothing has been missed. If Mueller is finalizing a bombshell about Trump to give to Congress I’m sure it will still be given to them if he is fired. It’s up to Congress after that. The only reasons I’m enjoying the others sweating it are karma and the continued drain of political clout of Republicans.

[LiberalFighter]

19. Does Mueller have a second in command that could take over?

[flamingdem]

20. Mueller has got them on state issues too

so I think he covered his bases somewhat.

If Trump fires Mueller he'll go down for obstruction for sure

[Hoyt]

21. Way to late to get away with that.

[BannonsLiver]

25. Whatever they try I bet Mueller has thought of it already

He’s 100 steps ahead of those mooks.

[Nevernose]

41. As the Executive, he could change the regulations

Because Congress has not done their fucking job and renewed the law. Now it's purely regulatory.

I understand that people have claimed that it's settled, that it's determined, that he can't fire Muller.

All of that theory, however, is up to the Supreme Court. That's dependent upon however Justice Kennedy is feeling that day and however Gorsuch votes (thank you Susan Sarandon!).

[dalton99a]

46. +1

[Volaris]

49. Ha! That's actually a pretty good assessment of Justice Kennedy the last 10 years lol.

[Golden Raisin]

45. In theory we could potentially have a second

"Saturday Night Massacre", contingent on Trump finding someone willing to do the firing.

[left-of-center2012]

53. Tillerson and Mueller?

What happens if Sessions gets indicted for lying?

[Takket]

56. that ship has sailed. not going to happen.

[soonerslash]

58. twumpy could start his war this weekend to distract from flynn heat

One thing which could easily happen this weekend is donny twump could launch his war with North Korea. With the ICBM launch this week, a perfect excuse has presented itself for donny to massively distract our media and public attention away from mikey flynn heat.

[Canoe52]

59. We're ready, popcorns popping now

if he does fire Mueller he's just digging his grave deeper.

[USALiberal]

63. For like the 100th time, Trump will not fire Mueller. nt

[oberliner]

64. Only the deputy attorney general who appointed Mueller can fire him and only for cause

[onenote]

69. oh, dear. an attempt to inject reality into this thread.

[Demsrule86]

68. I think it is too late.