Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) on Sunday said there is “no question” a bill he co-sponsored to shield Justice Department special counsels from political influence is at least partly directed at President Donald Trump.
On “Fox News Sunday,” Tillis said the bill reflected concern about Trump’s reaction to Robert Mueller, the special counsel overseeing the federal investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
“That’s why we put the effective date back to the date of the hire of the current special counsel,” he said.
“Is some of this directed at President Trump?” Fox News’ Chris Wallace pressed.
“Well, there’s no question that it is,” Tillis replied. “But this is about the Department of Justice.”
Tillis and Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) on Thursday introduced a bill to allow any fired Justice Department special counsel to challenge his or her removal in court before a panel of three federal judges.
Sens. Lindsay Graham (R-SC) and Cory Booker (D-NJ) introduced a similar bill on Thursday that would require any action by the attorney general to terminate a special counsel to first undergo federal judicial review.
On ABC News’ “This Week,” Tillis pushed back against Trump’s oft-aired complaint that the entire investigation is a “witch hunt.”
“I’m not sure that I agree with the ‘witch hunt,'” Tillis said. “And we’ll let the facts lead us to whether or not it was a hoax or a distraction.”
.@ThomTillis: "Not sure I agree" with Pres. Trump that the Russia probe is a "witch hunt." https://t.co/0YxDFsSABt #ThisWeek pic.twitter.com/jNbEMcQgoW
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) August 6, 2017
