Those of us who support President Donald Trump’s agenda are understandably dismayed that our leaders must bat down constant rumors rather than attend to the nation’s business – like with the Mueller investigation. The natural response is to wish for an end to the investigation.

We must be careful, however, about the solutions we advocate. Keeping up the pressure for a swift and focused investigation is appropriate and necessary. With no evidence to date of collusion by President Trump, it is also understandable why the President’s supporters protest investigators’ forays into what seems like areas beyond their authorized scope.

Where we should draw the line is calling for the removal of the special counsel, and the deputy attorney general, until and unless actual malfeasance is demonstrated. Encouraging the president to intervene is not only wrong but risky.

This means accepting that the U.S. Justice Department must operate independently of the president. Only then can the American people trust in its impartiality.

I realize there are those on the right whose trust is waning but concerns about Robert Mueller’s partisan motives are largely overblown. Mueller and Rod Rosenstein are longstanding, registered Republicans, not leftists. Both are widely respected and took an oath to uphold the Constitution. There is no credible evidence that either has abrogated that commitment, and in fact, earlier this summer, their work resulted in the indictment of 12 Russians for interfering in the 2016 elections.

In some ways, the current situation is a test of our true Republican values. Republicans have always stood for the preservation of our institutions as the most reliable protection for our freedoms. If we can maintain the courage of our convictions in such difficult times, we will set the right precedent, earn the sacrifices of our veterans who fought for an independent judiciary and free and fair elections, and ultimately prevail because there is nothing to hide.

Dennis O. Freytes, United States Army, retired, is in the Florida Veterans Hall of Fame and a member of Republican Values-Orlando. He is an advocate for Patriot American Veterans.