U.S. Senate panel passes bill to protect Special Counsel Mueller over Russia probe

WASHINGTON, April 26 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday approved legislation in a 14-7 vote to protect Special Counsel Robert Mueller from any attempted firing by President Donald Trump over the on-going probe into Russia's alleged meddling in the 2016 U.S. elections and possible collusion with the Trump campaign.

Though it is widely expected that the bill would be unlikely to pass either the Senate or the House, let alone to win the two-thirds support needed to override a presidential veto, it is the first time U.S. Congress has advanced legislation to formally protect Mueller from being fired by Trump, who repeatedly said the Russia probe is a "witch hunt".

"Because special counsel investigations only occur where there is a conflict of interest within the executive branch, special counsel investigations are usually matters of great national concern," committee chairman and bill co-sponsor Charles Grassley said.

"And Congress, by exercising its oversight powers, can help the American people to have confidence that these investigations are conducted efficiently and independently." said the Republican senator.

Including Grassley, four committee Republicans and every Democratic member voted for the bipartisan proposal, which now heads to the full Senate, where it is expected to face stiff opposition from Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and some other key Republicans.

"I'm the one who decides what we take to the floor, that's my responsibility as the majority leader, and we will not be having this on the floor of the Senate," McConnell said earlier this month.

The bill would give Mueller or any future special counsel 10 days to apply for an "expedited review" of their firing. If a court determines that it wasn't for "good cause," the special counsel would be reinstated.

Under the legislation, the attorney general would also be required to submit a report to Congress if a special counsel is appointed or removed and detailed information if the scope of an investigation is changed.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said on Monday that Trump currently has no plan to fire Mueller, days after the president tweeted that Mueller was appointed "based on an illegal act" from former FBI Director James Comey removed by the president nearly one year ago.

Trump's tweets just reiterate the president's idea that "the Trump campaign was involved in any collusion with Russia is a total witch hunt," said Sanders at the Monday daily press briefing, "It was a false premise that this entire thing started on."

Earlier this month, FBI raided Trump's longtime personal lawyer Michael Cohen's office, home and hotel room after federal prosecutors in Manhattan received a referral from Mueller. In response, Sanders said Trump "certainly believes he has the power" to fire Mueller.

During the raid, which is said not directly related to the Mueller's probe, the FBI seized thousands of emails, tax documents, business records and communications between Cohen and Trump.

Mueller has so far charged 19 people, among whom were several Trump campaign associates that have pleaded guilty to various charges stemming from Mueller's investigation. They are all cooperating with prosecutors but none of the charges are directly related to the collusion allegation.

It was reported earlier this month that Mueller told Trump's lawyers that the president is not a criminal target of the Russia probe, but remains a subject of the investigation. Cohen is now reportedly under investigation for bank fraud and campaign finance law violations. Enditem