An investigation may take place into claims senior officials discussed whether United States President Donald Trump could be removed from office.
Former acting director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Andrew McCabe, made the claim during an interview with CBS News. Mr McCabe, who was later sacked, described a conversation in which Rod Rosenstein, the current deputy attorney general, had raised the idea of invoking the US Constitution’s 25th Amendment.
Section 4 of the amendment says that in the event a president is incapacitated or unwilling to discharge his duties, the vice president and a “majority” of cabinet members can declare the president incapable. Mr Rosenstein has consistently denied discussing the 25th amendment.
Senator Lindsey Graham, the chairman of the US Senate Judiciary Committee, said that, if true, the discussion amounted to an “attempted bureaucratic coup.” “There’s an allegation by the acting FBI director at the time that the deputy attorney general was basically trying to do an administrative coup,” he told CBS’s Face The Nation.
“(To) take the president down to the 25th amendment process. The deputy attorney general denies it. I promise your viewers the following, that we will have a hearing about who’s telling the truth.” Referring to Graham’s comments, Trump issued an angry response. He tweeted of “illegal and treasonous” behaviour and an “illegal coup attempt”.
Trump added: “Wow, so many lies by now disgraced acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe. He was fired for lying, and now his story gets even more deranged. He and Rod Rosenstein, who was hired by Jeff Sessions (another beauty), look like they were planning a very illegal act, and got caught…..
“There is a lot of explaining to do to the millions of people who had just elected a president who they really like and who has done a great job for them with the Military, Vets, Economy and so much more. This was the illegal and treasonous ‘insurance policy’ in full action!” The president quoted a comment on the Fox and Friends programme saying this was “an illegal coup attempt”, adding “True!”
McCabe was the person who ordered the FBI investigations into Trump. He was fired from the FBI last year after being accused of misleading investigators during a probe into a press leak.