Congressman Matt Gaetz Ramps Up Pressure, Calls for Mueller’s Recusal from Special Counsel

Washington, D.C. — U.S. Congressmen Matt Gaetz (R-FL) this week took to the House floor to ramp up the pressure in his call for the resignation of Robert Mueller, former Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, from his position as Special Counsel. Rep. Gaetz introduced his call as a resolution last week, alongside Congressmen Louie Gohmert (R-TX) and Andy Biggs (R-AZ).

In July 2017, Rep. Gaetz offered an amendment in the House Judiciary Committee, as well as a stand-alone resolution, calling for a special counsel to investigate former FBI Director James Comey’s collusion with Robert Mueller, the FBI’s mishandling of the Hillary Clinton investigation, and former Attorney General Loretta Lynch’s infamous “tarmac conversation” with former President Bill Clinton. To view Rep. Gaetz’s amendment, and his stand-alone resolution, click HERE and HERE. To watch Rep. Gaetz offering his amendment, click HERE.

The text of the resolution Rep. Gaetz introduced last week can be found HERE, and the video and transcript of this week's floor speech can be found below.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH REP. GAETZ’S FLOOR SPEECH

TRANSCRIPT

We are at risk of a coup d’état in this country if we allow an unaccountable person with no oversight to undermine the duly elected President of the United States. And I would offer that is precisely what is happening now with the indisputable conflicts of interest that are present with Mr. Mueller and others at the Department of Justice. I join my colleague, the gentleman from Arizona, in calling for Mr. Mueller’s resignation or his firing.

Moreover, we absolutely have to see the Department of Justice appoint a special counsel to look into the Clinton Foundation, the Uranium One deal and Fusion GPS dossier that I will now have the opportunity to discuss. I really don’t know who’s investigating the Uranium One deal right now.

I know that in July the Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, along with 20 members of the Judiciary Committee, sent a letter to Attorney General Sessions, asking who would be looking into these critical questions, demanding that a special counsel be appointed to conduct a thorough review.

And it is extremely disappointing that the Chairman of the Judiciary Committee and my fellow members have received no response from the Department of Justice as to that letter. I don’t know whether the Attorney General’s recusal on matters related to Russia impacts, influences or in any way covers the Fusion GPS challenge, and the incredible threat to national security raised by the Uranium One deal.

I do know that there’s no world in which Mr. Mueller could potentially investigate these matters. It is federal law that even the appearance of a conflict of interest means that someone cannot engage in prosecutorial duties regarding allegations and investigations. That conflict of interest is absolutely present. As early as 2009, the FBI knew that we had informants alleging corruption into United States’ uranium assets.

There were allegations of bribery, kickbacks, extortion; even in 2010, Members of Congress were raising these questions and asking the Obama administration to provide answers that were never given. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that at the same time we were hearing from sources that there was bribery to influence our uranium assets, you had former President Bill Clinton getting paid $500,000 by a bunch of Russians to go give a speech.

Must have been one hell of a speech, but it’s deeply troubling to me that these circumstances seem to be ripe for corruption, and seem to demonstrate an ecosystem of corruption that must be thoroughly investigated. Now, why can’t Mr. Mueller and Mr. Rosenstein conduct this investigation?

First of all, Mr. Mueller was the head of the FBI in 2009. He potentially had a role to play in these questions. At the very least the fact that the FBI never prosecuted any case, never raised objections, never allowed Congress to be able to look into these matters — that would be an act of omission.

So at best there is an omission that creates a conflict for Mr. Mueller. At worst there might have been actual malfeasance or active negligence. In those circumstances, we need fresh eyes and clear eyes to give the American people confidence that our justice system is in fact working for them, but the not only the Uranium One deal that gives us a great deal to question.

We also have this Fusion GPS dossier, which we’ve now learned that the Democratic Party was paying for. The Democratic Party was out paying people to stir up this salacious and inaccurate dirt on President Trump both before and after he was elected.

In his own testimony before the Congress, Mr. Comey said that these allegations were “salacious” and could not be relied upon. So it begs the question, why was the Fusion GPS dossier relied upon? It was relied upon so that there would be FISA warrants issued to go and spy on the President and members of his team?

We don’t know. But until we have a special counsel, we’ll never get those answers because Mueller and Rosenstein are conflicted. And why did Congress never hear from these informants? Well, it’s no surprise to me that you actually have Mr. Rosenstein’s name on the signature block of the pleadings that sealed the information that could have shed light on this entire scandal.

But we didn’t have that opportunity. Now, look, it may very well be that these were simply acts of negligence, acts of omission or oversight. And if that’s the case, let’s get someone in who can give us the answers because certainly the people that are there now cannot give us answers and they have these tragic conflicts of interest.

The American people are well aware that the Clinton Foundation functioned largely as a money-laundering organization to influence the State Department, and to ensure that there were special people with special access and special relationships to the Clintons that got special treatment.

That is not an America that abides to the rule of law, and we as members of the Judiciary Committee, we have to see the rule of law held up and cherished. We’re a model for the world, but if we have circumstances where our President, who was elected, is undermined as a consequence of these things, if we do not replace Bob Mueller with someone who can come in — absent of association with the individuals who may be implicated — then I fear this great special place that we hold in the world may be diminished.

And so I have introduced legislation, I’m very pleased that my colleagues have joined me in sponsoring that legislation, calling for Mr. Mueller to resign. I’ve also called for a special counsel to be appointed.

And to my colleagues on the other side who say, well, hey, you know, there were a variety of agencies that were involved in approving the Uranium One deal, there were eight or nine groups that could have said no. Are members of Congress really taking the position that the Clintons don’t have their tentacles in just about every agency of government?

How ludicrous. You’re talking about the former President of the United States and at the time, the lady who was serving as our Secretary of State. The fact that this was a multiagency process only underscores the conflicts of interest that lie with Rosenstein and Mueller.

I am calling on the Attorney General to appoint a special counsel, to preserve the rule of law, and to help us save this great country from those who are trying to undermine us and undermine our President. I yield back to the gentleman from Arizona.