The liberal American Constitution Society (ACS) on Tuesday crossed the ideological line and asked the conservative Federalist Society to tell President Trump not to fire special counsel Robert Mueller.
In a letter to Federalist Society President Eugene Meyer, ACS President Caroline Fredrickson said the two groups need to present a united front to avert a constitutional crisis.
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“While the members of the American Constitution Society and the Federalist Society disagree about many issues, they should share a fundamental belief in the rule of law,” she said.
“Progressive and conservative lawyers nationwide need to speak out now to avert this crisis. Words and even deeds after the fact will not be sufficient to undo the damage that will result from such an act.”
The Federalist Society declined to comment on the letter.
The White House said last week that Trump believes he has the power to fire Mueller as special counsel in the Russia probe.
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Trump believes Mueller has “gone too far” after FBI agents raided the office, home and hotel room of Trump’s personal attorney Michael Cohen in part based on a referral from the special counsel’s office.
Fredrickson told The Hill that ACS wants the Federalist Society members to speak out and tell the president he is not above the law.
“Having two groups who don’t agree on a whole lot, but do agree in our separation of powers, the Constitution and emphatically about the rule of law would send an incredibly powerful message,” she said.
Groups on the left have accused the White House of outsourcing the nomination process to the Washington, D.C.-based Federalist Society as it seeks to stack the courts with conservative judges.