WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump, walking crisis, creates so many little fiascos that the real earthquakes can feel at first like just more of the usual tremors.Well, hold on to your red baseball caps: the big one has hit. And you can see the ground around the president shifting fast.In the latest major development to daze the flailing administration over three consecutive remarkable days, the U.S. deputy attorney general has made the rare decision to appoint a special counsel to lead the investigation into possible co-ordination between Trump’s 2016 campaign and the Russian government. Rod Rosenstein handed the probe Wednesday to former FBI director Robert Mueller, a lawyer who led the bureau under president George W. Bush but who commands bipartisan respect. Mueller was an ally of the FBI director fired by Trump last week, James Comey, during a Bush-era internal battle.Read the latest news on U.S. President Donald TrumpRosenstein’s decision, which had been requested by Democrats but opposed by Trump, removes the delicate investigation from the direct control of the president’s own appointees. It therefore leaves Trump significantly more exposed to the political and legal peril that had already been growing since Monday. Mueller is authorized to prosecute any federal crimes arising from the investigation.“My decision is not a finding that crimes have been committed or that any prosecution is warranted,” Rosenstein said in a statement. “I have made no such determination. What I have determined is, based upon the unique circumstances, the public interest requires me to place this investigation under the authority of a person who exercises a degree of independence from the normal chain of command.”Read more: Comey memo says Trump asked him to shut down Flynn investigationFormer FBI director Mueller to lead Trump-Russia probeThe Trump train is derailing. Jump off now: MenonHow will this Trump nightmare end?: ...
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