[B]URLINGTON — Congressman Peter Welch, D-Vt., said he would be “very open” to support impeachment measures should President Donald Trump move to oust Robert Mueller, the special counsel leading the probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
Welch said that Mueller’s investigation in entitled to protection, and took to the House floor this week to rail on Trump and his allies for attacking Mueller’s probe.
Trump’s now former personal attorney, John Dowd, told the Daily Beast on Saturday he hopes Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein will shut down Mueller’s probe into Russia’s election interference. Dowd initially said he was speaking on behalf of Trump, but after the Daily Beast published its story, Dowd reversed course and said he was speaking in his personal capacity.
Identical bills in the U.S. House and Senate would allow Mueller to appeal to a three-judge panel should Trump order his dismissal, however neither of the Republican-controlled chambers has allowed a vote on the measures.
“Through their words and actions, President Trump and his allies are doing everything they can to destroy the independent investigation of special counsel Robert Mueller,” Welch said on the House floor Wednesday.
Last weekend, for the first time, Trump named Mueller in several tweets targeting the integrity of the special counsel’s investigation.
“The Mueller probe should never have been started in that there was no collusion and there was no crime,” Trump tweeted Saturday night.
Welch, Vermont’s sole congressman, has rebuffed calls to support impeachment measures thus far. He instead has repeatedly called for Mueller’s probe to continue unfettered.
During a news conference Friday, Welch said that if Trump orders Mueller fired, he would be “very open” to an impeachment resolution.
“If he fires Mueller, he is putting himself, and his presidency, and this country, in enormous jeopardy,” Welch said.
Welch said his hesitation in giving an unequivocal answer is that the question of what would happen should Mueller be fired is still hypothetical.
“Firing the independent counsel would be reminiscent of Nixon firing Archibald Cox. And it’s a step too far. I think many of my colleagues, including some of my Republican colleagues, would see that as a dangerous step and it would open very serious questions about impeachment,” Welch said.
Tax Season
Welch was in Burlington Friday to highlight free services to help Vermonters with their tax returns. Several services are available, the largest being the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program.
“You really have an option to get a very qualified person, who is a volunteer, to help you get your tax form filled out,” Welch said.
There are as many as 300 volunteers at about 120 sites around the state who are ready to help people file their taxes, said Grant Peterson, a senior tax consultant for the IRS. The VITA program serves anyone who has an income of $54,000 or less.
Residents can call or text 211 to access the service. Peterson also said that people with incomes of $66,000 or less can use the IRS’ “Free File” software, available on the IRS website.
Tim Heffernan is a junior studying economics and history at the University of Vermont, who also works about 10 hours a week as a VITA volunteer.
“The consultation services and knowledge of tax law is often least available to people who need it the most,” Heffernan said.
Lack of volunteers is often a “bottleneck” for getting people access to services, Peterson said. Jan Demers, executive director of the Champlain Valley Office of Economic Opportunity, said that language barriers are another impediment for people accessing services.
Demers said CVOEO has interpreters standing by to help new Americans and others with a language barrier file their taxes.
“Finding a safe place, and CVOEO is a safe place for new Americans to come and have their taxes done, is essential,” Demers said.
