Tell Rep. McSally: Protect our Democracy! Protect Mueller!

On May 17, 2017, Representative Martha McSally released the following statement in response to reports that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein has appointed former FBI Director Robert Mueller as special counsel to oversee the Department of Justice’s investigation into Russia’s attempts to influence the 2016 election. “The Justice Department’s naming of former FBI Director Robert Mueller today as special counsel to oversee the ongoing investigation into Russia’s meddling in our election is the right decision at this time. Director Mueller is someone who is free of politics, most recently demonstrated in 2011 when the Senate voted 100-0 to extend his term as FBI Director for two years. He has a long and distinguished career in law enforcement and a tremendously in-depth understanding of the Justice Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. I look forward to an expeditious conclusion to this investigation in order to provide answers to the questions the American people are asking and I think former Director Mueller is a great choice to do just that."

Congress has the authority and responsibility to hold Trump accountable. Call Rep. Martha McSally and demand that she protect Mueller. Click below for a sample script and the number to call:

In a move that even conservative legal scholars are calling unconstitutional, Donald Trump fired Jeff Sessions last week and installed a stooge, Matthew Whitaker, as acting attorney general.1 Whitaker, who has spent months complaining about Robert Mueller's investigation and openly laying out plans to destroy it, is now his supervisor.2Democrats and even some Republicans are now talking about legislation to protect the independence and integrity of Mueller's investigation.3,4 This is a huge reckoning for our democracy. To save the investigation into Trump's Russia ties, we need every member of Congress to assert their authority now and put a check on Trump during the lame-duck session of Congress. Contact your representative Martha McSally to ask that she do everything she can to pass legislation to protect Mueller before the end of the year. Click here for a sample script and the number to call. (520) 881-3588 https://mcsally.house.gov/contact/email Whitaker's qualifications for the role would be unlikely to pass muster in a Senate confirmation, but Trump is circumventing Congress by appointing Whitaker – under dubious use of the Federal Vacancies Reform Act – into a temporary role.5 Even a short-term appointment is enough time for Whitaker to do real damage. Given his history of lambasting Mueller's investigation, it is evident that if Congress fails to step in, Whitaker will undermine Mueller's work. Just one day after Trump installed Whitaker, more than 100,000 people mobilized in protest and reports indicated that the White House was surprised by the backlash.6,7 Since then, momentum has built to rein in Whitaker, but only Congress has the authority and responsibility to hold Trump accountable. Republicans must put partisanship aside to stand up for the rule of law. Democrats must do everything in their power, including attaching protection to end-of-year, must-pass spending bills, to ensure Congress protects Mueller. Unless Congress acts right away to protect the integrity and independence of Mueller's investigation, Trump and his stooges may get away with sabotaging it. Will you call now? Click the link below to get started: https://act.credoaction.com/call/Protect_Mueller_House_calls?t=7&akid=30642%2E3130208%2ERiEuJz Kaili Lambe, CREDO Action Click below for a sample script and the number to call: References: Lorelei Laird, "Was Trump's appointment of acting AG Whitaker within the law?" ABA Journal, Nov. 12, 2018. Kevin Breuninger, "Trump's new Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker, who has criticized the Mueller probe, will now oversee it," CNBC, Nov. 7, 2018. Nicole Lafond, "Dems May Tack Mueller Protection Onto Must-Pass Year-End Spending Bill," Talking Points Memo, Nov. 9, 2018. Burgess Everett, "Some in GOP clamor to protect Mueller," POLITICO, Nov. 9, 2018. Laird, "Was Trump's appointment of acting AG Whitaker within the law?" Jen Kirby, "'Protect Mueller' protests pop up across the country," Vox, Nov. 9, 2018. Kaitlan Collins and Betsy Klein, "Whitaker backlash prompts concern at the White House," CNN, Nov. 8, 2018.

A Trump lapdog cannot oversee Robert Mueller's investigation

Trump's new lapdog

Tell Congress: "Donald Trump crossed a bright red line when he replaced Jeff Sessions with Matt Whitaker. Pass strong legislation to protect the integrity of the special counsel investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 presidential election, preserve its findings and ensure Robert Mueller's independence." Add your name:

Donald Trump fired Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Wednesday. He replaced Sessions with Matt Whitaker, a Trump stooge who is publicly opposed to special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation, which reports indicate he will now supervise.1,2 Constitutional scholars from across the political spectrum have affirmed that Trump's actions are unconstitutional and more than 100,000 people mobilized on Thursday to protect Mueller.3,4 But Republican members of Congress, who actually have the power to protect the Trump-Russia investigation from Trump's obstruction, are refusing to act. We have to keep up the pressure and demand that Congress act now to protect the integrity of Mueller's investigation and preserve its findings before Trump and Whitaker sabotage the investigation. Tell Congress: Pass legislation to protect the special counsel investigation. Click here to sign the petition. Trump's demand that Sessions resign was unsurprising, but his decision to install Whitaker in his place is a direct attack on the rule of law and our democracy. Whitaker complained that Mueller's investigation might hurt Trump and his family's reputations, defended the Trump Tower meeting with Russians, derided Mueller's investigation as a “witch hunt,” proposed slashing Mueller’s budget in order to sabotage the investigation, suggested that Rosenstein should interfere with the scope of the investigation, retweeted an op-ed on the “Mueller Lynch Mob,” suggested hiding the Mueller evidence from the public, complained about aggressive tactics, opposed legislation to protect the special counsel from White House interference and chaired the 2014 political campaign of Sam Clovis, a grand jury witness in the investigation.5,6 He made it perfectly clear that he will undermine or completely destroy Mueller's work. Mueller's investigation produced indictments or guilty pleas from 32 people, including four former Trump advisers.7 Last week, reports emerged that White House officials were concerned that Mueller was on the verge of indicting Donald Trump Jr.8 That's why Trump wants his stooge to step-in. In April, the Senate Judiciary Committee passed legislation to protect Mueller from being fired without just cause.9 Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell refused to bring it to the floor for a vote, hiding behind the excuse that he didn't think Trump would try to fire Mueller.10 But McConnell is playing games. Trump reportedly already tried to fire Mueller in 2017 and only backed down when White House staff threatened to quit.11 And now that Trump crossed the line and installed his lapdog to oversee the investigation, every member of Congress must be forced to go on the record about whether they want to defend democracy or roll over for Trump. Click the link below to demand that Congress immediately put a check on Trump and protect the integrity of the Mueller investigation. https://act.credoaction.com/sign/Whitaker_unacceptable?t=7&akid=30598%2E3130208%2ERtQ6cH - Kaili Lambe, CREDO Action Add your name: References: Kevin Breuninger, "Trump's new Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker, who has criticized the Mueller probe, will now oversee it," CNBC, Nov. 7, 2018. Darren Samuelsohn and Caitlin Oprysko, "Sessions ousted," POLITICO, Nov. 7, 2018. Neal Katyal and George Conway, "Trump’s Appointment of the Acting Attorney General Is Unconstitutional," The New York Times, Nov. 8, 2018. Jen Kirby, "'Protect Mueller' protests pop up across the country," Vox, Nov. 9, 2018. Matthew Whitaker, "Mueller's investigation of Trump is going too far," CNN, Nov. 7, 2018. Ken Dilanian, "Tweet," Nov. 7, 2018. Andrew Prokop, "All of Robert Mueller’s indictments and plea deals in the Russia investigation so far," Vox, Oct. 10, 2018. Jonathan Chait, "Donald Trump Jr. Expecting to Be Indicted by Mueller Soon," Intelligencer, Nov. 7, 2018. Brian Murphy, "These Republicans co-wrote a bill to protect Mueller. Now they won’t push for it," The News & Observer, Aug. 22, 2018. Lauren Gambino, "McConnell says he will not allow vote on bill protecting Mueller from firing," The Guardian, April 17, 2018. Michael Schmidt and Maggie Haberman, "Trump Ordered Mueller Fired, but Backed Off When White House Counsel Threatened to Quit," The New York Times, Jan. 25, 2018.

Protect the Mueller investigation.Tell the House: Resist efforts to impeach Rosenstein

Tell the House: "Protect the integrity of Robert Mueller's investigation. Resist the efforts to impeach his supervisor, Rod Rosenstein." Add your name:

Reps. Devin Nunes, Mark Meadows and Jim Jordan along with other Trump lapdogs in the House want to impeach Rod Rosenstein, who oversees Robert Mueller's investigation into Trump's Russia ties.1 It's an outrageous and blatant attempt to discredit Mueller's investigation and protect Trump from Mueller's findings.2 The timing could not be more suspect: According to news reports, Rep. Meadows "had the impeachment document on the floor of the House at the very moment that Rosenstein spoke to reporters and TV cameras" to unveil the indictments of 12 Russian agents last Friday.3 In the wake of Trump's Putin presser and subsequent invitation of Putin to Washington, some Republicans have been critical of Trump, but instead of actually doing something to rein him in, Congress is poised to allow these extremists to give Trump cover by threatening the Mueller investigation. Tell Congress: Protect the integrity of Robert Mueller's investigation. Resist the efforts to impeach Rosenstein. Click here to sign the petition. Of course one of the chief architects behind this gross abuse of power is Rep. Nunes, a former member of the Trump transition team, who has done everything he can to undermine Mueller's investigation – as well as the parallel congressional investigation.4 Purportedly, he was forced to step aside from running the House Russia investigation after sharing classified information directly with the press and the White House in 2017.5 Nunes' most loyal ally in his effort to impeach Rosenstein is Rep. Jordan, who was recently named by Ohio State University survivors as complicit in covering up sexual abuse and seems to have a vendetta against investigations.6,7 Supposedly their attempt to impeach Rosenstein is based on his refusal to turn over classified documents. But given Nunes' history of leaking confidential information, Rosenstein is clearly in the right. Furthermore, the impeachment of a non-cabinet executive branch official is practically unheard of, but Trump and his lapdogs will try anything to undermine Mueller's investigation.8 Earlier this month, the Senate confirmed Trump-appointed Putin-linked Brian Benczkowski to head the Department of Justice Criminal Division, even though Benczkowski refused to recuse himself from the Russia investigation.9 As the new DOJ Criminal Division head, Benczkowski, who previously worked closely with Jeff Sessions, is now in a position where he can leak information about Mueller's probe to Sessions, who is recused, and even to Trump, who may be a subject of the investigation.10 If Nunes, Jordan and other Trump lapdogs succeed in impeaching Rosenstein, Trump could name Benczkowski as Rosenstein's replacement and effectively end Mueller's investigation.11 Tell Congress: Protect the integrity of Robert Mueller's investigation. Resist the efforts to impeach Rosenstein. Click the link below to sign the petition. https://act.credoaction.com/sign/Protect_Rosenstein?t=7&akid=29374%2E3130208%2EC-BVgh - Kaili Lambe, CREDO Action  Add your name: References: Rachael Bade and Kyle Cheney, "House conservatives prep push to impeach Rosenstein," POLITICO, July 13, 2018. Fred Wertheimer and Norman Eisen, "In bid to impeach Rod Rosenstein, House Republicans are abusing power to protect Trump," USA Today, July 19, 2018. Bade and Cheney, "House conservatives prep push to impeach Rosenstein." Kelsey Snell, "Who Is Devin Nunes? A Look At The Man Behind The Memo," NPR, Feb. 2, 2018 Spencer Ackerman, "Devin Nunes steps aside from House intelligence committee's Russia inquiry," The Guardian, April 6, 2017. Bob Moser, "Rep. Jim Jordan Is Named in New OSU Sexual Abuse Lawsuit," Rolling Stone, July 18, 2018. Rep. Jim Jordan, "Tweet," July 11, 2018. Wertheimer and Eisen, "In bid to impeach Rod Rosenstein, House Republicans are abusing power to protect Trump." David Shortell and Jeremy Herb, "Senate confirms Justice Department nominee with ties to Russian bank," CNN, July 11, 2018. David Ignatius, "Could this Trump nominee interfere with Mueller?," The Washington Post, March 22, 2018. Pema Levy, "If Trump Fires Rosenstein, This Man Could end up with power over the Russia Investigation," Mother Jones, April 11, 2018.

Tell Senate Republicans: Demand that Mitch McConnell bring the Special Counsel Independence and Integrity Act to a vote

Tell Senate Republicans: "Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is blocking a vote on the bipartisan legislation to protect special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation. It’s time to put country over party and publicly call on him to hold a fair up-or-down vote for the Special Counsel Independence and Integrity Act." Add your name:

Special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation has yielded multiple indictments of high-level Trump associates.1 But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell continues his dangerous agenda of putting his party over democracy. He is trying to kill the Special Counsel Independence and Integrity Act, the bipartisan bill that would stop Trump from sabotaging Mueller. Trump has constantly threatened to fire Mueller – and many have speculated that Trump has come very close to firing Mueller's supervisor Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.2,3 McConnell will continue to be complicit in Trump’s lawlessness unless he lets Congress do its job and protect Mueller’s investigation into Trump. There are enough votes to pass this bill in the Senate – but only if McConnell allows it come to the floor.  Tell Senate Republicans: Demand that Mitch McConnell bring the Special Counsel Independence and Integrity Act to the Senate floor for a fair up or down vote. Click here to sign the petition. McConnell says he will not allow a Senate vote on the bipartisan legislation because he doesn’t think the president will try to fire Mueller.4 But Trump already tried fire to Mueller back in June and only backed down when White House staff threatened to quit.5 Trump is doing everything he can to undermine Mueller's investigation. On Sunday, he tweeted that the FBI had placed a "spy" on his campaign – an attempt to weaken public confidence in the Department of Justice – and demanded that the DOJ open an investigation. 6 On Monday, he met with Rosenstein and FBI Director Christopher Wray. After the meeting, Rosenstein announced that the DOJ would turn over highly classified information from Mueller's investigation to congressional Republicans. This is an unprecedented breach of protocol and capitulation to partisan politics and Trump lapdog Devin Nunes, who has been making that demand for months in his role as House Intelligence Committee Chair.7 The vast majority of Americans think Mueller should conduct his investigation without presidential interference.8 That fact isn’t lost on the many GOP senators who’ve said they agree with the American people that Trump would be crossing a red line by disrupting the investigation now. A vote on this bill would send a strong message to Trump that the Senate will no longer be complicit in his attempts to undermine the investigation. Congress has a constitutional responsibility to serve as a check on the executive branch. With an illegitimate autocrat occupying the White House, our system of laws needs the strongest possible defense – no White House is above the law. Congress must step up now to make sure we have a truly independent investigation of Trump. Tell Senate Republicans: Demand that Mitch McConnell bring the Special Counsel Independence and Integrity Act to the Senate floor for a fair up or down vote. Click the link below to sign the petition. https://act.credoaction.com/sign/mcconnell_covering_for_Trump?t=7&akid=28674%2E3130208%2EuPFzj0 - Kaili Lambe, CREDO Action Add your name: Carl Hulse "Push for Special Counsel Bill Shows G.O.P.’s Rising Fear Mueller Will Be Fired," The New York Times, April 19, 2018. Chris Cillizza, "Donald Trump has never been more likely to fire Robert Mueller than he is right now," CNN, April 10, 2018. Cristiano Lima, "Trump on whether he'll fire Mueller: 'We'll see what happens,'" POLITICO, April 9, 2018. Lauren Gambino, "McConnell says he will not allow vote on bill protecting Mueller from firing," The Guardian, April 17, 2018. Michael Schmidt and Maggie Haberman, "Trump Ordered Mueller Fired, but Backed Off When White House Counsel Threatened to Quit," New York Times, Jan. 25, 2018. Adam Edelman, "DOJ seeks probe of FBI conduct in 2016 campaign after Trump 'spy' claim," NBC News, May 21, 2018. Justin Sink, "Rosenstein Will Let Congress See ‘Highly Classified’ Information, White House Says," Bloomberg, May 21, 2018. Scott Clement and Emily Guskin, "https://act.credoaction.com/go/22537?t=18&akid=28674%2E3130208%2EuPFzj0," The Washington Post, April 13, 2018.

Tucson Nobody is Above the Law Rally

Right now, rumors are swirling around Washington, D.C. that Donald Trump is planning to fire Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein -- Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s boss -- because of his involvement in the independent investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election.

From bragging about avoiding paying federal income taxes, to refusing to release his tax returns, to profiting from the presidency, Trump has proven time and time again that he believes the rules and laws of our American institutions don’t apply to him.

But firing Rosenstein is an ALARMING red line that, if crossed, would lead us into an unprecedented constitutional crisis. It would be the clearest attack yet on the Special Counsel’s investigation into potential collusion with Russia, obstruction of justice, and many more crimes.

That’s why hundreds of thousands of people in over 800 towns and cities across the country have committed to taking to the streets if Rosenstein is fired.

It’s essential that we send a strong message that Trump is NOT above the law -- sign up right now to join a pre-planned rally near you.

As Special Counsel Mueller’s boss, Rosenstein has power over how the Russia investigation is conducted and even whether its results are made public. Firing Rosenstein and replacing him with one of Trump’s flunkies would be just as dangerous to the investigation as firing Mueller.

At this time last year, we marched for tax fairness and government accountability, but now the future of our democracy is at stake -- sign up to attend a rally right now.

- Nicole Gill,Tax March

Let's meet up outside of the district court building in case Trump fires Mueller. Many of our fellow citizens now say that the president can not obstruct justice--in effect, arguing that the president is above the law. We must show resistance if the president acts above the law by firing Mueller.

This is an event planned as a rapid-response protest in the event that Donald Trump fires Special Counsel Robert Mueller or acts in other ways to seriously threaten the Trump-Russia investigation. Please note that the listed date is a placeholder and will be updated to be within 24 hours of the firing, should it occur. 

The Tucson part of the event will be held:

United States District Court - District of Arizona - Tucson
405 W Congress Street
Tucson, AZ 85701

RSVP to let the event host know that they can count on you to attend the event.

Once you sign up, make sure to invite friends to join you at the event!

The host has marked that this event is wheelchair accessible.

Note: If you choose to attend an event, you agree to engage in nonviolent, peaceful action, to act lawfully, and to strive to de-escalate any potential confrontations with those who may disagree with our values.

Event ground rules

By participating in this event, you agree
(i) not to engage in any act of violence or violation of any applicable law,
(ii) to obey the orders of authorized event marshals and law enforcement authorities, and
(iii) that event organizers and sponsors will not be responsible for any injury or damage to your person or property resulting from or occurring in the course of your participating in the event, and you agree to release and forever hold harmless event organizers and sponsors, and their respective officers, directors, employees, and agents from liability for any such injury or damage.

Protect the Mueller investigation

Tell Congress: "Preserve the rule of law by ensuring the independence of current investigations into Trump’s Russia ties. Protect special prosecutor Mueller from Trump’s abuse of power." Add your name: On Monday, FBI agents searched the office of Donald Trump's personal attorney, Michael Cohen, after obtaining a warrant signed by a federal judge. They reportedly seized documents relating to Cohen's financial affairs, including his payout to Stormy Daniels, who alleges she had an affair with Trump.1 Predictably, Trump railed against the FBI in a series of statements and tweets and mused about firing Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller.2 With the White House openly admitting it has explored firing Mueller, the threat to the independence of the investigation has never been more real, and Congress must step in now before it is too late. Sign the emergency petition to Congress: Protect the rule of law by ensuring the independence of current investigations into Trump’s Russia ties. Click here to sign the petition. Even Republicans are saying that Trump must not fire Mueller – but so far, they have done nothing to prevent him from doing so.3 We need to raise the stakes and force them to act on their big talk. The raids on Cohen's office, home and hotel are a big deal. The standard of evidence for such a warrant is extremely high. To sign off on a warrant rather than a subpoena, the judge must have seen highly credible evidence of serious crimes or evidence that Cohen was hiding or would have destroyed evidence if given the opportunity.4 Ignoring the reality that Mueller referred the Cohen matter to the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York because potential charges of bank fraud, wire fraud and campaign finance violations fall outside the purview of the Russia investigation,5 Trump's reaction has been completely out of line. First, Trump said “why don’t I just fire Mueller? Well, I think it’s a disgrace what’s going on. We’ll see what happens... many people have said you should fire him."6 Then, press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders let it slip that the White House has researched his ability to do, saying, "we've been advised that the president certainly has the power to make that decision."7 The fact that Trump has his team investigating his ability to fire Mueller indicates that we are on the precipice of a constitutional crisis, yet Mitch McConnell is still blocking legislation to prevent Trump from firing Mueller, denying that it is even a possibility.8 Bipartisan legislation already exists to protect Mueller.9 If Republicans want to back up their strong talk with real action, they need to show that they are willing to force the White House to obey the law by protecting Mueller’s investigation and keeping it independent of Trump overreach. Sign the emergency petition to Congress: Pass legislation to protect special prosecutor Mueller from Trump’s abuse of power. Click here to sign the petition. Unlike in the summer when it first appeared that Trump was contemplating firing Mueller, there are now key Senate Republicans who have spoken out and must draw a line in the sand to protect our democracy. Not long ago, a post-Watergate law was in place that protected investigations like Mueller’s from presidential overreach. The Ethics in Government Act of 1978 set up a system to ensure that special prosecutors would be totally independent officials that a group of judges could appoint and no president could fire. But in the 1990s, Republicans and Democrats teamed up to let the independent counsel statute expire.10 Mueller, instead, is a special prosecutor serving at the whim of Trump’s own Department of Justice.11 That means that Trump could order Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to fire Mueller, sparking a constitutional firestorm with the executive branch seeking to crush the rule of law to protect its grip on power. Congress can prevent this nightmare scenario. With an illegitimate autocrat occupying the White House, our system of laws needs the strongest possible defense – no White House is above the law. Congress must step up now to make sure we have a truly independent Trump investigation. Tell Congress: Protect the rule of law by ensuring the independence of current investigations into Trump’s Russia ties. Click the link below to sign the petition. https://act.credoaction.com/sign/Protect_Mueller_Investigation?t=8&akid=28077%2E3130208%2EkYmEjC - Kaili Lambe, CREDO Action Add your name: Philip Bump, "We may soon learn a lot more about that $130,000 payment to Stormy Daniels," The Washington Post, April 10, 2018. Christiano Lima, "Trump on whether he'll fire Mueller: 'We'll see what happens,'" POLITICO, April 9, 2018. Burgess Everett, Elana Schor, and Kyle Cheney, "Republicans warn Trump against axing Mueller," POLITICO, April 10, 2018. Jennifer Rubin, "Trump melts down after Cohen raid — and only hurts himself," The Washington Post, April 10, 2018. Carol Leonnig, Tom Hamburger and Devlin Barrett, "Trump attorney Cohen is being investigated for possible bank fraud, campaign finance violations," The Washington Post, April 9, 2018 Alexander Bolton, "Schumer: It's time to vote on legislation protecting Mueller," The Hill, April 10, 2018. Chris Cillizza, "The White House just let slip a big secret about firing Robert Mueller," CNN, April 10, 2018. Jordain Carney, "McConnell: Legislation to protect Mueller not needed," The Hill, April 10, 2018. Elana Schor, "Bipartisan Senate bill to protect Mueller set for release Wednesday," POLITICO, April 11, 2018. Phil Helsel, "‘Special Counsel’ Less Independent Than Under Expired Watergate-Era Law,” NBC News, May 17, 2017. Erwin Chemerinsky and Eric Freedman, "Naming Robert Mueller as special counsel isn't enough – because Trump can get rid of him," Los Angeles Times, May 17, 2017.

Remove Nunes from the House Intelligence Committee

The petition to House Speaker Paul Ryan and House Republican leadership reads: "The independence of Rep. Devin Nunes as chair of the House Intelligence Committee is compromised. You must immediately remove him from the Committee, and help ensure an independent and transparent investigation of all credible allegations concerning the relationship between Donald Trump and the Russian government." Add your name:

One of Donald Trump’s most loyal congressional lapdogs – House Intelligence Committee (the Committee) Chair Rep. Devin Nunes – is doing everything in his power to undermine both the congressional investigation and the parallel FBI investigation into Trump’s Russia ties. On Monday night, House Republicans voted to release the so-called Nunes memo – a blatant attempt to smear Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who is overseeing the Mueller investigation. Democrats who have seen the memo, including Rep Adam Schiff, ranking member on the Committee, report that the so-called memo is really just Republican talking points making unsubstantiated claims to undermine the credibility of the FBI’s investigation.1 The FBI even issued an unprecedented statement publicly rebuking Nunes's conspiracy-fueled “memo” and expressing “grave concerns about material omissions of fact that fundamentally impact the memo’s accuracy.2" Thanks to the progressive movement's activism, Nunes supposedly stepped aside last year from running the House Russia investigation after sharing classified intelligence directly with the press and the White House. However, he is still the Committee's chair and has been working to subvert its work in order to protect Donald Trump.3 If Paul Ryan really believes his own words that Congress is responsible for holding the executive branch accountable,4 he must now remove Nunes from the Committee. Tell Paul Ryan and the rest of House Republican leadership: Immediately remove Rep. Nunes from the House Intelligence Committee. Click here to sign the petition. It is clear that Trump and his cronies want the baseless Nunes “memo” released, even though members of his own party will not vouch for its accuracy, because it helps build their narrative that the Mueller investigation is a witch-hunt with Trump as its target.5 We now know that Trump reportedly demanded that Mueller be fired last summer, and the only reason Mueller is still on the job is because White House counsel stood up to Trump.6 It seems now that in lieu of outright firing, Trump and his lapdogs are doing everything they can to erode the public’s faith in the investigation and undermine Mueller’s independence. Devin Nunes was a member of the Trump transition team, and his independence has been suspect for more than a year. But his latest actions go far and above stalling his committee’s investigation: He is now actively using his access to classified information to interfere in a separate independent investigation. Nunes’ conspiracy theory-laden “memo” attracted major attention in part because thousands of Russian bots engaged on Twitter calling for the memo to be released.7 In any other era, the claims the memo supposedly makes would be laughable. Reportedly, it attacks the Rod Rosenstein, the Republican who is supervising Robert Mueller, because he signed off on a warrant to spy on Trump associate Carter Page, based on credible reports that Page had been collaborating with Russian spies.8 The idea that the FBI wouldn’t investigate him is ludicrous, but by dressing up fringe right-wing conspiracy theories as a “memo,” Nunes is making these absurd attacks mainstream – with the ultimate goal of discrediting Rosenstein and eroding public faith in the independent FBI investigation. Tell Paul Ryan and the rest of House Republican leadership: Immediately remove Rep. Nunes from the House Intelligence Committee. Click here to sign the petition. When Republicans voted to release the memo, they voted against even allowing the minority report authored by Rep. Adam Schiff, which points out the flaws in Nunes’ narrative, to be released to members outside the Committee.9 They also refused to allow the Department of Justice to review the memo for accuracy or redact anything that might jeopardize the investigation.10 What’s more, without redaction, the public release of the so-called memo could jeopardize not only the effectiveness, but even the safety of the FBI and other law enforcement officials.11 Republicans in Congress might hope they can obfuscate and redirect our attention, but if we make it clear we are paying attention and demand that they put the integrity of our democracy first, we can build pressure on them to act. Demand that House Republican leaders immediately remove Rep. Nunes from the House Intelligence Committee. Click the link below to sign the petition. https://act.credoaction.com/sign/Nunes_russia?t=8&akid=27080%2E3130208%2EPmL70A - Kaili Lambe CREDO Action Add your name: Nicholas Fandos, “House Republicans Vote to Release Secret Memo on Russia Inquiry,” The New York Times, Jan. 29, 2018. Ben Mathis-Lilley, "FBI Issues Statement Denouncing House Republican Russia Memo That Trump Has Promised to Release," Slate, Jan. 31, 2018. Zach Beauchamp, “The real reason the Nunes memo matters," Vox, Jan. 30, 2018. Phil Mattingly et al., “Ryan: Nunes memo should be released, members should separate memo from Mueller,” CNN, Jan. 30, 2018. Quinta Jurecic and Benjamin Wittes, “How Many of Devin Nunes’s GOP Colleagues on the Intelligence Committee Will Stand Up for the Accuracy of His Memo? Hint: Not Many," Lawfare, Jan. 23, 2018. Kristen Welker and Phil Helsel “Trump wanted to fire Mueller in June but backed down when White House counsel threatened to quit," NBC News, Jan. 26, 2018. Ryan Sit, “Trump Caught on Hot Mic Saying he will ‘100 percent’ Release Nunes Memo, despite Justice Department Objections,” Newsweek, Jan. 31, 2018. David Leonhardt, “The Nunes Conspiracy,” The New York Times, Jan. 30, 2018. Jeremy Herb and Manu Raju, "House Intel Committee votes to release Nunes memo on FBI,” CNN, Jan. 30, 2018. Steve Benen, “Trump, Justice Department at odds over dubious ‘Nunes memo,'” MSNBC, Jan. 29, 2018. Adam Goldman and Nicholas Fandos, "F.B.I. and Justice Dept. Brace for Possible Release of Secret Memo,” The New York Times, Jan. 30, 2018.

Tell Sens. Corker, Flake and McCain: Trump investigation must be truly independent. Sign the petition

Petition to Sens. Corker, Flake and McCain: "Protect the rule of law by ensuring the independence of current investigations into Trump’s Russia ties. Protect special prosecutor Mueller from Trump’s abuse of power." Add your name:

Special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation of Donald Trump’s Russia ties has yielded its first indictments – which may put the investigation under threat. News recently broke that former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and Rick Gates, another former Trump staffer are under indictment. On top of the indictments, Trump foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos pled guilty to lying to the FBI about his communication with Russians.1 The threat to Mueller’s independence – and a constitutional crisis – is now very real. Trump has openly mused about firing Mueller in public interviews. His team has been digging up dirt on the special prosecutor. In the days before the indictments became public, Trump allies tried to deflect blame, pushed for phony investigations of Sec. Clinton to distract Americans, and advocated to strip Mueller of his powers.2,3 What happens next is a huge test for the so-called moderate Republicans of conscience who have recently spoken out against Trump’s reckless abuse of power – they must now put words into action to protect the integrity of existing investigations into all of Trump and his associates’ illegal ties to Russia. Sens. John McCain, Bob Corker and Jeff Flake have made headlines and earned plaudits from the elite political and media establishment for saying that Trump is a threat to our democracy, but they have done precious little to back those words up with action. Tell Sens. Corker, Flake and McCain: The investigation into Trump’s Russia ties must be truly independent. Protect special counsel Mueller from Trump’s abuse of power. Click here to sign the petition. These Republicans must immediately use all their institutional and public leverage to ensure all current investigations concerning Trump’s Russia ties continue without interference from the Trump regime and its allies in Congress. They must help pass legislation to protect an independent counsel and prevent Donald Trump from triggering a constitutional crisis. Mueller’s methodical investigation is critical and it is still in its beginning stages. We still do not know if more indictments are to come or what Papadopoulos, Manafort, or Gates will share about other Trump associates in order to spare themselves time behind bars. Not long ago, a post-Watergate law was in place that protected investigations like Mueller’s from presidential overreach. The Ethics in Government Act of 1978 set up a system to ensure that special prosecutors would be totally independent officials that a group of judges could appoint and no president can fire. But in the 1990s, Republicans and Democrats teamed up to let the independent counsel statute expire.4 Mueller, instead, is a special prosecutor serving at the whim of Trump’s own Department of Justice.5 That means that Trump could order Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to fire Mueller, sparking a constitutional firestorm with the executive branch seeking to crush the rule of law to protect its grip on power. Congress can prevent this nightmare scenario. If Sens. Corker, Flake and McCain want to back up their strong talk with real action, they need to show that they are willing to force the White House to obey the law by protecting Mueller’s investigation and keeping it independent of Trump overreach. Tell Sens. Corker, Flake and McCain: The investigation into Trump’s Russia ties must be truly independent. Protect special counsel Mueller from Trump’s abuse of power. Click here to sign the petition. Mueller’s thorough investigation into Trump’s Russia ties has already uncovered far more than Trump would like, and as the White House has already been doing everything it can to discredit Mueller, it seems like it is only a matter of time before he lashes out to undermine the investigation by pardoning his former campaign staff, firing Mueller – or both. Unlike in the summer when Trump first contemplated firing Mueller, there are now key Senate Republicans who have spoken out and must now draw a line in the sand to protect our democracy. With an illegitimate autocrat occupying the White House, our system of laws needs the strongest possible defense – no White House is above the law. Congress must step up now to make sure we have a truly independent investigation of Trump. Tell Sens. Corker, Flake and McCain: Trump investigation must be truly independent. Click the link below to sign the petition. https://act.credoaction.com/sign/Protect_Mueller?t=8&akid=25847%2E3130208%2E1lgKcv - Kaili Lambe, CREDO Action from Working Assets Add your name: References: Matt Zapotosky, Rosalind Helderman, Carol Leonnig and Spencer Hsu, “Three former Trump campaign officials charged by special counsel,” The Washington Post, Oct. 30, 2017. Nicholas Fandos, “Courting Democrats Ire, Republicans Open New Obama-Era Inquiries,” The New York Times, Oct. 24, 2017. Sonam Sheth, “Mueller's latest move has Trump's staunchest allies melting down on Twitter,” Business Insider, Oct. 28, 2017. Phil Helsel, “‘Special Counsel’ Less Independent Than Under Expired Watergate-Era Law,” May 17, 2017. Erwin Chemerinsky and Eric Freedman, “Naming Robert Mueller as special counsel isn't enough – because Trump can get rid of him,” Los Angeles Times, May 17, 2017.