President Donald Trump is facing a crisis he can’t manage with a tweet or a taunt. The appointment of former FBI Director Robert Mueller as special counsel overseeing the federal government’s Russia investigation has dramatically raised the legal and political stakes and put Trump’s young presidency in dangerous waters just four months after he was sworn into office. White House and campaign records may be subpoenaed, and Trump’s presidential privilege to keep West Wing conversations private could be challenged. Current and former staffers will likely have to hire pricey lawyers and sit for interviews. Trump himself may have to answer questions.

1. AP Analysis: Russia
probe is a crisis Trump
can’t control
May 17, 2017. –The Associated Press
By JULIE PACE
WASHINGTON(AP) — PresidentDonald Trump is facing a crisis he
can’t manage with a tweet or a taunt.
The appointment of former FBI Director Robert Mueller as special
counsel overseeing the federal government’s Russia investigation has
dramatically raised the legal and political stakes and put Trump’s young
presidencyindangerous waters just fourmonths after he was sworn into
office.
White House and campaign records may be subpoenaed,and Trump’s
presidential privilege to keep WestWing conversations private could be

2. challenged. Current and former staffers will likely have to hire pricey
lawyers and sit for interviews. Trump himself may have to answer
questions.
And even if Trump’s campaign is ultimately cleared of wrongdoing, the
shadow of an investigation will hang over the White House for months
or even years.
“They will govern with constant fear of bombshell news being
around the corner,” said Julian Zelizer,a history professorat Princeton
University.
Trump has long maintained that he and his associates had no nefarious
ties to Russia. In a written statement shortly after Mueller’s appointment
was announced, Trump said a thorough investigation will confirm “there
was no collusion between my campaign and any foreign entity.”
The Justice Department’s decision to put Mueller in charge of the
investigation comes as the White House was already reeling from a
series of self-inflicted controversies.
Last week, Trump stunningly fired FBI Director James Comey, who
was overseeing the Russia probe.Ina brazen warning to Comey,Trump
suggested he may have tapes of their conversations. Undeterred,
Comey’s associates thenrevealed that the formerFBI chief has a memo
of a meeting with Trump in which the presidentasks forthe investigation
into ousted national security adviser Michael Flynn to be stopped.
Controversy is nothing new for Trump. As a candidate, he often
careened from one crisis to the next, including the release of a video in
which he was heard making predatory comments about women. His
response often followed a familiar pattern: blaming the media for
peddling “fake news,” lashing out at his rivals and creating provocative
distractions, often with a well-timed tweet.
He’s tried to deploy that same playbook to tamp down the Russia
controversy. He’s repeatedly panned both the FBI investigation and
concurrent probes on Capitol Hill as a “hoax.” He’s blamed Democrats
for leveling allegations of Russian collusion as a way to explain their
crushing defeats in last year’s elections. And he’s urged not only his
supporters, but also the FBI, to focus more on the leaks about the

3. investigation that have deepened questions about possible Russia
connections.
Presidential historian Douglas Brinkley said Trump is “not going to be
able to jive his way out” of the Mueller-led probe.
“He wanted to make it out as media and Democratic warfare,”
Brinkley said.“But now, with Mueller being chosenand the GOP backing
the Justice Department decision, Trump is truly going to be held to the
standards of justice.”
In his statement Wednesday night, Trump said he planned to focus on
“fighting for the people and the issues that matter most to the
future of our country.” But the snowballing Russia controversy has
overshadowed much of his agenda and raised questions about whether
Republican lawmakers will be willing to take tough votes supporting a
president under the cloud of investigation.
As special counsel, Mueller will have all the same powers as a U.S.
attorney, though he will still ultimately reportto Deputy Attorney General
Rod Rosenstein.Still, he is not subject to the day-to-day supervision of
the Justice Department.
The situation is similar to the investigation into whether officials in
President George W. Bush’s administration leaked the name of CIA
operative Valerie Plame to reporters. Comey, who was then serving as
deputy attorney general, tapped Patrick Fitzgerald to lead the probe,
which led to the conviction of a top White House official.
In the 1990s, PresidentBill Clinton was engulfed by an independent
counselinvestigation thatstarted as a probe into failed land deals
but ultimately exposedhis affair with a White House intern.He was
impeached by the House, but acquitted by the Senate.
Jennifer Palmieri, who worked in the Clinton administration and later on
Hillary Clinton’s presidentialcampaign, offered a dire warning for Trump
aides on what could be to come in a White House facing the pressures
of an investigation.
“It’s all the pressures of life in the White House with this weight hanging
over you that could bring untold trauma at any point,” she said.

4. https://www.boston.com/news/politics/2017/05/17/ap-analysis-russia-
probe-is-a-crisis-trump-cant-control