Why Robert Mueller’s appointment to special counsel takes the heat off of Congress

Posted: May 17, 2017 / 08:57 PM CDT / Updated: May 18, 2017 / 12:18 AM CDT

WASHINGTON, DC – DECEMBER 14: FBI Director Robert Mueller III testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee during a oversight hearing on Capitol Hill December 14, 2011 in Washington, DC. Mueller testified on the over 2,500 open cases the FBI Corporate and Securities is probing for fraud after they are up close to 50 percent from 2008. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

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Former Assistant United States Attorney Mike Monico joins Roe Conn and Anna Davlantes to explain the role and power of the newly appointed special counsel to oversee the Justice Department investigation into ties between President Trump’s campaign and Russian officials, Robert S. Mueller III. Deputy attorney general Rod J. Rosenstein announced the appointment of former F.B.I. director Mueller in a statement and reaffirmed that his “decision is not a finding that crimes have been committed or that any prosecution is warranted.” This announcement came moments before a Washington Post headline was published that read “House Majority Leader McCarthy told colleagues in 2016: ‘I think Putin pays’ Trump.”