Former Federal Prosecutor John Carlin appeared on Monday’s edition of The Beat with Ari Melber to discuss the ongoing special counsel investigation, and it was quickly clear why he was in a unique position to speak on it: He’s the former Chief of Staff to Robert Mueller during his time as Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
That’s an aspect of Mueller’s career that seems to be lost on many Americans, whose first experience with Mueller came the day he was appointed by Rod Rosenstein to head up the special counsel probe into the coordinated effort by Russian intelligence and military sources to disrupt and potentially change the outcome of the 2016 United States presidential election.
Mueller was by far the most qualified to lead the probe based on his experience in the intelligence community — and comments at the time of his appointment from even the most ardently conservative public figures reflected that common agreement. Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich, himself no stranger to Republican presidential politics (and occasionally dirty electoral tricks), tweeted on the day of Mueller’s selection:
Robert Mueller is superb choice to be special counsel. His reputation is impeccable for honesty and integrity. Media should now calm down
— Newt Gingrich (@newtgingrich) May 18, 2017
Carlin was on the show to remind the panel of exactly that. Telling Ari and the gathered panel that “there is no one who is better at ignoring the noise and focusing on the job at hand than Bob Mueller,” he outlined what might need to happen after Mueller releases his findings to the Justice Department — which is to say, the public will have to demand action on whatever the result is — and even weighed in on a specific development in the case, Mueller’s pursuit of former Trump adviser Roger Stone.
Watch our clip montage from Monday’s show here:
Featured image via screen capture
