Let Mueller finish Russia investigation, it's most consequential in 30 years: Thornburgh Special counsels are reserved for investigations of great consequence, such as Russia's attack on US elections. We need a full accounting from Mueller.

Richard Thornburgh | Opinion contributor

One of the first significant issues that confronted me when I was sworn in as President Ronald Reagan’s attorney general was whether the special counsel mechanism should be expanded. I strongly argued that this process should be retained but only for the most serious and consequential investigations undertaken by the Department of Justice. I believed that the special counsel should be utilized solely for uniquely important investigations where the outcome must be seen as completely credible by the entire country regardless of political considerations.

I cannot think of a more consequential undertaking in the 30 years since I initially took that position than the investigation into the attacks by Russia on America’s elections. Indeed, the gravity of special counsel Robert Mueller’s appointment is confirmed by the fact that we have so rarely utilized such a position in our justice system.

It also underscores why Mueller should be allowed to follow the facts wherever they take him — and make a full public accounting to cleanse our political and governmental institutions of any lingering questions.

Not even the president is above the law

As a lifelong Republican who served under seven presidents, I have an abiding faith in the rule of law that is a central thread running through every administration I served. America works only if our system of justice applies equally to all. This system thrives only when everyone involved — from local police officers to the attorney general and the president — behave in accordance with the distinctly American belief: Nobody is above the law, not even the president.

This is why such special counsels have been appointed under both Democratic and Republican administrations only when extreme circumstances required.

Twenty months ago, President Donald Trump lauded Attorney General Jeff Sessions as one who “has devoted his life to the cause of justice and believes deeply that all people are equals in the eyes of the law.” Sadly, Trump seems to have forgotten his prior characterization in his recent attacks on his own attorney general for, among other things, recusing himself from overseeing the Russia probe.

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The Office of the Attorney General deserves better and so does Sessions. President Reagan would never have done this. Neither would he have tolerated, let alone supported, Rudy Giuliani’s mission to undermine the special counsel.

That said, if the president takes dangerous steps to stop the investigation or install a person to head the Department of Justice who won’t continue the department’s current course of action, there is a remedy. Congress must not abdicate its role as a co-equal branch of government in protecting the special counsel’s investigation. Congress needs to make clear — both to the president and to the American people — that it will empower the special counsel to continue his investigation unimpeded and bring the facts to light.

The Senate in particular was created to act as a check on the executive branch’s impulses. The Senate confirmed Sessions with every Republican senator voting in favor. Now is the time for those Republican senators to stand by their vote and defend the attorney general.

Trump's best path to exoneration

Mueller has earned the right to complete his work. He has already indicted or secured guilty pleas from at least 32 individuals and three companies. We should give him time and space to finish.

My sincere hope is that President Trump’s tweets are mere bluster from a president whose accomplishments — especially on the economy — aren’t being properly credited, and that President Trump will ultimately revert to his prior words that “all people are equals in the eyes of the law.” The best way for the president to be exonerated is to allow the special counsel’s office to conclude its investigation and release its final report publicly.

As the late Sen. John McCain said of Russian President Vladimir Putin: “If we continue to undermine our own rule of law, we are doing Putin’s job for him.”

We must insist that the Department of Justice perform its duties vigorously and follow the evidence wherever it leads. Our democracy demands no less.

Richard Thornburgh was U.S. attorney general from 1988 to 1991 and governor of Pennsylvania from 1979 to 1987.