Douglas L. Kriner

Professor of Government

Doug Kriner, professor in Cornell University’s Government Department and author of the book “Investigating the President: Congressional Checks on Presidential Power,” says that the Mueller report is likely to represent just the beginning of investigations that will threaten President Donald Trump’s presidency.

Kriner says:

“For two years, Americans have anxiously awaited the release of the Mueller report, longing for a denouement to one of the most contentious chapters of American political history.

“However, House Democrats’ early steps make clear that the Mueller report will be only the end of the beginning. Rather than simply wait for Mueller, House Democrats have moved aggressively on multiple fronts to launch and expand an array of investigations into not only possible Russian collusion and obstruction of justice, but also into a host of other alleged cases of administrative misconduct.

“Historically, investigations have been one of the most powerful institutional weapons with which the president’s opponents in Congress have battled the administration in the public sphere and inflicted considerable political damage on the White House. Just as many have speculated that Trump’s greatest legal jeopardy may actually come from the Southern District of New York rather than Mueller, the new wave of congressional investigations the Mueller report will unleash may pose the most severe political threat yet to his presidency.”