The Note: GOP congressman calls for special prosecutor for Trump-Russia

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February 27, 2017

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GOP congressman calls for special prosecutor for Trump-Russia

The Big Story

Of all the bubbling questions and potential scandals of the early Trump administration, the one that now appears likely to hold is about Trump campaign contacts with Russians. There are sufficient questions surrounding these communications to merit a serious investigation, many in Washington believe. There are also questions about whether such an investigation can be done independently inside the Justice Department considering White House attempts to influence reporting on the matter. Now, with GOP Rep. Darrell Issa's endorsement of appointing a special prosecutor, there's enough political momentum to keep these questions swirling for a good long while. Issa's opinion is big, since it opens the door for the question to be posed to any other Republican. "This is the best time to show leadership," Issa told Politico. Of course, he has a political motivation to show that leadership. But he is not likely to be alone in that realm.

The Sleeper Story

Budget outlines are particularly useless affairs, more so than the actual presidential budgets that promptly get torn apart by Congress – which may or may not actually pass a budget into law. But the White House appears poised to offer an opening bid with stark priorities that include a massive increase to defense spending, no major changes to Social Security or Medicare and deep cuts virtually everywhere else, according to The New York Times. This is critically important stuff for this next phase of the Trump presidency, where congressional buy-in will no longer be optional. Starting with Tuesday's speech before Congress, the president needs to put legislative meat on his rhetorical bones. That's when senators and House members get to consider if they want to be on board this train that's leaving the station.

The Shiny Story

Diversity made its Oscars comeback, and politics did, too – from host Jimmy Kimmel to Meryl Streep, right through Viola Davis and a pointed boycott by an Iranian winner. Somehow, the president resisted the urge to tweet, even when the mother of all screw-ups gave him an opening for high snark. Hollywood has made its collective views known. But it's not like Hollywood was subtle about those views during the election. Tinseltown's fancy awards season was not and never was going to be about representing the people who put their hopes and expectations into a vote for Trump – millions of whom go to movies without being influenced by stars' politics. For a night, America put a different face forward to the world. But that isn't an effective gauge of movement or moderation in the country. Trump will surely find a way to weigh in – in a feud that will be as meaningless as that between Kimmel and Matt Damon.

TLDR

Now that Rep. Darrell Issa has backed the need for a special prosecutor to investigate Russian meddling into the election and possible contacts between the Trump campaign and Russian officials, it opens the door for other Republicans to also call for an independent investigation. The question is, "Will they?"