特朗普危机发酵 受弹劾可能大增

据《华盛顿邮报》最新报道，美国司法部周三（5月17日）委任前联邦调查局（FBI）局长穆勒（Robert Mueller）为特别检察官，负责领导俄罗斯干预美国2016年大选调查。此前，特朗普被曝曾要求前FBI局长科米停止调查前国安顾问弗林。《华盛顿邮报》制作了随时更新的大事记，追踪特朗普竞选团队通俄事件的报道。

美国司法部副部长罗森斯坦当日宣布该决定。罗森斯坦在声明中说：“根据当前的特有情况，为了维护公共利益，我必须委任一名具独立性的人领导这项调查工作……我坚信（委任）特别检察官是必要的，以便让美国人民对调查结果有信心。”

《华盛顿邮报》同日报道称，特朗普获总统提名前一个月，他在国会最亲密的盟友之一、众议院多数党领袖凯文·麦卡锡（Kevin McCarthy）在国会山与众议院共和党领导人私人谈话中称，Dana Rohrabacher和特朗普可能是普京款项的受益人。

Dana Rohrabacher是加州共和党人，在国会中他被认为是普京和俄罗斯的热心支持者。据《华盛顿邮报》获得的一份2016年6月15日的记录，美国会众议院议长保罗·瑞恩立即插话，要求停止就上述该说法深入讨论，并要求共和党人保密。

据英国《金融时报》（FT）报道，特朗普危机正在发酵。5月17日，美国参议院情报委员会和众议院监督委员会分别要求联邦调查局交出前局长科米的一份备忘录。参议院司法委员会要求白宫提供科米和总统沟通的所有信息，包括录音。

据中新网报道，美国会参议院情报委员会5月17日再次致信科米，邀请其出席公开听证会和闭门会议。同日，美国会众议院监督和政府改革委员会主席、共和党人贾森·查菲茨宣布，他将邀请科米出席该委员会于5月24日举行的听证会。

FT报道称，特朗普对FBI施加压力可能妨碍司法的说法，将对其总统任期构成最严重的威胁。特朗普17日在对美国海岸警卫队学员发表演讲时回击称，从他最近受到媒体的批评看，“历史上没有一个政界人士受到更糟糕或更不公平的对待”。

5月17日，美国标准普尔500指数一度出现自美国大选以来的最大单日跌幅，随后有所回升，当日以下跌1.1%告终。美元受新的卖出压力的打击，跌至2016年11月特朗普当选以来的最低水平。相比之下，金价和10年期美国国债大涨。

美国会民主党人要求展开独立调查，而一些共和党人也趋于严厉。亚利桑那州参议员约翰•麦凯恩表示，特朗普卷入的一起又一起丑闻正在接近“水门事件的重大性和规模”。国会众议院共和党党鞭贾森•查菲茨暗示将迫使FBI交出任何文件。

据中新网报道，5月17日，美国会众议院首次出现“弹劾特朗普”的言论。得克萨斯州的民主党众议员阿尔·格林呼吁以“妨碍司法”为由弹劾特朗普。他表示，没有人能高于法律，即使美国总统也不能。同日，共和党众议员贾斯廷·阿马什同日则表示，如果特朗普向科米施压一事属实，特朗普可能面临被弹劾的局面。

作为对俄罗斯干涉美国大选的全面调查的一部分，FBI正在彻查特朗普竞选助手——包括前国家安全顾问迈克尔•弗林(Michael Flynn)——与俄罗斯官员之间的联系。根据科米写的一份备忘录，特朗普曾要求他停止调查前一天被解职的弗林。

美国政治记者和作者伊丽莎白•德鲁在英国《金融时报》撰稿指出，从近期解职门引发的争议看，尼克松和特朗普的类似之处很多，比如从最初的忌惮泄密、怀疑政府员工，到敌视媒体，特朗普面临信任危机。美国重现宪法危机并非不可能。

附：《华盛顿邮报》英文报道全文

Deputy attorney general appoints special counsel to oversee probe of Russian interference in election

By Devlin Barrett, Sari Horwitz and Matt Zapotosky May 17 at 7:36 PM

The Justice Department has decided to appoint a special counsel to investigate possible coordination between Trump associates and Russian officials seeking to meddle in last year’s election, according to Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein.

Robert Mueller, a former prosecutor who served as the FBI director from 2001 to 2013, has agreed to serve in the role, Rosenstein said. The move marks a concession by the Trump administration to Democratic demands for the investigation to be run independently of the Justice Department. Calls for a special counsel have increased since Trump fired FBI Director James B. Comey last week.

“In my capacity as acting attorney general I determined that it is in the public interest for me to exercise my authority and appoint a special counsel to assume responsibility for this matter,’’ Rosenstein said in a statement. “My decision is not a finding that crimes have been committed or that any prosecution is warranted. I have made no such determination. What I have determined is that based upon the unique circumstances the public interest requires me to place this investigation under the authority of a person who exercises a degree of independence from the normal chain of command.’’

He said Mueller has agreed to resign from his private law firm to avoid any conflict of interest.

President Trump said in a statement Wednesday evening that he is confident the investigation will find no wrongdoing.

“As I have stated many times, a thorough investigation will confirm what we already know — there was no collusion between my campaign and any foreign entity,” he said. “I look forward to this matter concluding quickly. In the meantime, I will never stop fighting for the people and the issues that matter most to the future of our country.”

Rosenstein is overseeing the Russia probe after Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself. Democrats have challenged Rosenstein’s impartiality in the Russia probe because he wrote a memorandum used as the rationale for Comey’s firing. In the memo, Rosenstein said Comey had violated longstanding Justice Department practices in his handling of the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server, but shortly after the announcement of the firing the president said he’d decided to fire Comey before he received the recommendation from Rosenstein.

Under the order signed Wednesday by Rosenstein, Mueller is tasked with investigating “any links and/or coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the campaign of President Donald Trump’’ as well as “any matters that arose or may arise directly from the investigation’’ and any other matters that fall under the scope of the Justice Department regulation covering special counsel appointments.

“If the special counsel believes it is necessary and appropriate, the special counsel is authorized to prosecute federal crimes arising from the investigation of these matters,’’ the order states.

Officials said the appointment was being made under a Justice Department statute that has only been used once, in 1999, though the Justice Department has made other special counsel appointments more recently under different authority.

Peter Zeidenberg, who has worked for a past special counsel, called Mueller an “inspired choice’’ because he comes to the job with automatic credibility among both parties.

“He’s nominally a Republican, but he’s really not a political person at all,’’ said Zeidenberg, a lawyer now in private practice, who cautioned that such an investigation is likely to take a long time, and may not ultimately satisfy the public’s demand for a full accounting. “People are waiting for public answers to what happened, but that’s not his job. There won’t be a report or a press conference at the end of this from him, that’s not his role.’’