Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon has spoken with people in the West Wing and in Congress about a new plan to knock the Russia investigation off the rails, according to a new report.
The Washington Post reported Wednesday night Bannon has a proposal he is presenting to people in President Donald Trump's circle. The plan is designed to protect Trump as the Department of Justice probe into Russia collusion continues.
The multi-pronged approach, according to the Post, includes firing Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, instructing the White House to stop cooperating with FBI special counsel Robert Mueller, and asking Trump to cite executive privilege both forward and backward, which would make interviews Mueller's team has conducted with White House staffers inadmissible to the investigation.
"The president wasn't fully briefed by his lawyers on the implications" of not invoking executive privilege, Bannon told the Post. "It was a strategic mistake to turn over everything without due process, and executive privilege should be exerted immediately and retroactively."
Bannon also suggested Trump should fire Ty Cobb, a member of the White House legal team working on the Russia matter.
Rosenstein is supervising Mueller's Russia investigation, which began last spring over allegations Trump's campaign colluded with Russia. Rosenstein signed off on the search warrant that led to Monday's raids at two offices, an apartment, and a hotel room tied to Trump's personal lawyer Michael Cohen.
Trump has indicated he might fire Mueller, which according to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is not allowed under the Code of Federal Regulations. Other reports say Trump may fire Rosenstein, which would be legal.
Bannon has yet to bring his ideas to Trump himself, according to the Post, instead having conversations with others over the phone and in person.
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