GOP lawmaker proposes measure to end Mueller probe in 6 months
Rep. Ron DeSantis, R-Florida, has proposed an amendment to the government spending legislation that would end funding to the special counsel investigating potential collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian government during the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
If Congress passes the amendment, it would stop funding for former FBI director Robert Mueller's investigation after 180 days.
At the end of that 6 month period, the amendment would also prevent the special counsel from looking into "matters occurring before June 2015"-- a crucial time period for the special counsel to investigate, as President Trump formally declared his candidacy in a speech from Trump Tower on June 16, 2015.
The conservative congressman's office released a statement saying that the special counsel "didn't identify a crime to be investigated and practically invites a fishing expedition" and calls on Congress to "clarify the scope and limit the duration of this investigation."
The legislation was filed as part of a spending bill the House will consider after the August congressional recess. However, the House Rules Committee must endorse the measure before it can be voted on.
The appropriations bill would keep the federal government open past Sept. 30, which marks the end of the fiscal year. If the amendment were to be included in the bill, it could be among those that would be polarizing enough to cause the bill to fail. If Congress does not pass the spending package by Sept. 30, the government will shut down.
