Rand Paul On Robert Mueller Appointment: ‘Huge Abuse Of Government Power’
Republican Senator from Kentucky, Rand Paul, said Sunday that the appointment of Special Counsel should be considered a “huge abuse of government power.” Paul made the remarks during an appearance on MSNCB‘s Meet the Press, while discussing the latest developments in Mueller’s probes.
As previously reported by the Inquisitr, on Friday Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s team and a New York federal prosecutor submitted two sentencing memos against President Donald Trump’s former personal attorney Michael Cohen, recommending that the lawyer serve between 51 and 63 months for four crimes, two of which implicate Trump. The Cohen filings prompted a number of legal experts to predict via social media that this could spell the end of Trump’s presidency.
Rand Paul does not see it that way. Discussing Mueller’s most recent findings with MSNBC‘s Chuck Todd, Paul opined that the special counsel is committing “prosecutorial abuse,” and threatening Michael Cohen to come up with information that could damage Trump. This is exactly why, according to Paul, Cohen keeps changing his story — the special counsel’s office is putting pressure on the lawyer, effectively forcing him into a corner.
Robert Mueller’s team is threatening Cohen with years in prison for tax evasion, and “they keep getting the story to change,” Paul explained, characterizing Mueller’s tactics as “prosecutorial abuse.” Paul then went on to question the appointment of special counsels and special prosecutors, asserting that what Mueller’s team is doing is trying to “make and find a crime,” instead of relying on traditional American justice.
“Traditional justice in our country is someone steals something from the grocery store, and you have a crime, you try to find out who did it. With a special prosecutor, you decide, ‘We’re going after someone, the president. And we’re gonna squeeze as many people as we can until we can try to get a person.'”
The Kentucky Senator concluded that the appointment of Robert Mueller was a mistake in and of itself. “I’m against these special prosecutors. I think they’re a huge mistake. And I think they’re a huge abuse of government power.”
It perhaps comes as no surprise that Rand Paul, considered a Constitutionalist and a libertarian-leaning Republican, opposes appointment’s like Robert Mueller’s, but during his interview with Chuck Todd, Paul addressed a number of issues pertaining to Donald Trump’s presidency, notably the president’s decision to nominate William Barr for attorney general.
“Barr’s beliefs are incredibly dangerous. … Barr should use his return to the limelight to apologize for his role in promoting the system of mass incarceration that has decimated communities of color in this country.” https://t.co/TlJh2xxGyj
— The Intercept (@theintercept) December 8, 2018
Barr is a strong supporter of the notoriously anti-privacy Patriot Act, and has even suggested that the law needs to be expanded. This, according to Paul, is the main reason why Barr will “have trouble” getting his vote. Paul also noted that he is “disturbed” by Barr’s stances when it comes to civil asset forfeiture, indicating that he is not likely to support Donald Trump’s nominee for Attorney General.
