What Trump Should Say About Mueller

Right-wing media are doing Donald Trump no favors with their campaign to discredit special prosecutor Robert Mueller. The louder that Fox News commentators and other editorialists scream that Mueller should be fired, the more they appear to believe that he will find something wrong if he keeps looking.

In fact, the crazy allegations that Mueller is staging a presidential coup are desperate enough to be suspicious. So are the attempts by some members of Congress to impugn Mueller’s objectivity. The louder the critics complain, the deeper Mueller should dig.

I wrote recently that everyone, right and left, should stop speculating about what Mueller and his team will or will not find, or whether the investigation is fair. We should let the facts speak for themselves when they emerge. With Mueller’s solid reputation for integrity on the line and with the microscopic scrutiny his findings will receive, it is inconceivable that he would conclude anything that hard facts cannot support.

What would be welcome right now is a statement by Trump himself, along these lines:

I want to assure that American people that I will do nothing to impede or discredit special prosecutor Robert Mueller and his investigation. I encourage the media and my supporters to hold their fire and let Mr. Mueller do his job. I am not concerned about any biases that members of the special prosecutor’s team may have about me. In fact, I welcome an aggressive investigation. That is a prosecutor’s job. The more aggressive the investigation is, the more the American people will have confidence in the eventual conclusion that I have done nothing wrong.

So, to Mr. Mueller and his team, I say ‘bring it on’. Be thorough. I will not try to impede your work with pardons, firings or changes in personnel at the Justice Department. I do ask, however, that the investigation not be unnecessarily prolonged. I have a great deal of work to do on behalf of the American people and it is not in their interest to see this distraction drag on any longer than is necessary. I will cooperate as fully as possible with Mr. Mueller because I have nothing to fear. If his investigation alleges anything that is unfair, inaccurate or untrue, I will address it at the appropriate time.

Would a statement like that be presidential? Absolutely.

Will it happen? Not a chance.