Republican floats measure to kill Mueller probe after 6 months

Rep. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) is pushing an amendment to severely curtail special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia.

DeSantis has put forward a provision that would halt funding for Mueller’s probe six months after the amendment’s passage. It also would prohibit Mueller from investigating matters that occurred before June 2015, when Trump launched his presidential campaign.

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The amendment is one of hundreds filed to a government spending package the House is expected to consider when it returns next week from the August recess. The provision is not guaranteed a vote on the House floor; the House Rules Committee has wide leeway to discard amendments it considers out of order.

In a statement, DeSantis said the order appointing Mueller as special counsel “didn’t identify a crime to be investigated and practically invites a fishing expedition.”

“Congress should use its spending power to clarify the scope and limit the duration of this investigation,” he explained. Deputy Attorney General Rod “Rosenstein has said that the DOJ doesn’t conduct fishing expeditions; the corollary to this admonition should be that Congress will not fund a fishing expedition.”

Several House Democrats are pushing amendments to protect the Mueller probe.

For instance, Rep. Nita Lowey of New York, ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, proposed a measure to prohibit the Justice Department from obstructing Mueller’s work.

House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) has voiced support for Mueller in response to reports that Trump was considering firing the special counsel.

“I think the best advice is to let Robert Mueller do his job,” Ryan said in June.