The USA Today newspaper published a powerful new editorial against the "smearing" of special counsel Robert Mueller.
"When Robert Mueller was appointed in May to oversee the investigation into possible Russian interference in the 2016 campaign, he was universally praised as the perfect choice," USA Today reminded. "Amid the contemptible efforts to discredit Mueller's investigation, let's pause for a moment to remember who he is: A Republican. A Marine Corps veteran who earned a Bronze Star for valor and Purple Heart for a gunshot wound to his thigh during combat in Vietnam. A longtime federal prosecutor before President George W. Bush nominated him to direct the FBI in 2001 and the Senate unanimously confirmed him."
"Yet as the Russia investigation gathered steam with charges brought against four former Trump campaign officials in recent months, a coterie of Republican congressmen, joined by commentators on Fox News and other Trump-friendly media outlets, have started calling for Mueller's head," USA Today explained. "Rarely has the American public been suddenly asked to revile a public figure once so widely revered."
The newspaper says Congress needs to pass legislation to protect the investigation.
"The factions calling the special counsel's fairness into question are laying the groundwork for either undermining Mueller's conclusions or firing him. To pre-empt his possible removal, Congress should promptly pass bipartisan legislation to provide greater protections for the special counsel," the editorial urged.
"Where logic falls away amid the odious campaign to tarnish Mueller and his investigators — bolstered Tuesday by Trump's latest 'FBI TAINTED' tweet — is with the prospect that the president might well be innocent of wrongdoing.
"Imagine if that's true. If the Russia story is truly 'fake news' and a 'witch hunt,' as the president and his minions insist, why would they sling mud at the very people and institutions that would place their valuable imprimatur on such a conclusion?" the newspaper asked.
"Why, you have to wonder, are they so worried about what Mueller's investigation might reveal?" USA Todaypondered.