McGahn in June, Other Republicans Soon

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The key to a legitimate Russia investigation has always been Republicans not named Donald Trump.

In Congress, Republicans — and only Republicans — have the power to make clear that Trump’s presidency is effectively over if he fires Robert Mueller, the special counsel. At the Justice Department, Republicans can refuse to carry out any order to fire Mueller and create a firestorm if Trump subsequently fires them. And at the White House, Republicans serving under Trump can explain to him that he would create a true constitutional crisis if he tried to subvert the rule of law.

We now know — thanks to Michael Schmidt and Maggie Haberman of The Times — that Trump did try to subvert the rule of law. In June, he issued an order to fire Mueller, with three silly justifications (including the fact Mueller once quit Trump National Golf Club in Sterling, Va.).

But the White House counsel, Donald McGahn (pronounced “McGann”), refused to send the order to the Justice Department, which would have had to carry out any firing. Removing Mueller, McGahn told other White House officials, “would have a catastrophic effect” on Trump’s presidency. As McGahn expected, Trump then backed down.

I would caution people not to lionize McGahn. He’s been involved in some of this administration’s seedier acts, including the nomination of unqualified federal-judge candidates, at least one of whom had personal ties to him. He also played a role in previous attempts by the White House to muck up the Russia investigation, including the firing of James Comey as the F.B.I. director.

But McGahn acted honorably and bravely when it mattered most. He flat-out refused an order from his boss, which is never easy, let alone when your boss is the president and the order deals with the most explosive subject in politics. He doesn’t deserve to be lionized, but he does deserve praise.

Unfortunately, other Republicans may soon find themselves facing the same decision as McGahn did. Trump has recently been offering conciliatory words about the investigation, but there is every reason to think he is afraid of it — and willing to do almost anything to obstruct it. Here’s hoping other Republicans show the same courage as McGahn.

Elsewhere, Jonathan Chait writes in New York magazine — even before the news of the June order broke — that Paul Ryan is actively helping Trump undermine the rule of law.

In a recent episode of NPR’s “Fresh Air,” Neal Katyal gave a particularly clear explanation to Terry Gross of the legal and political dynamic: The system is designed to let the president fire a special counsel, but to make it logistically and politically difficult.

“I know it’s not the key point tonight, but for someone who built a TV show around it, Trump turns out to be very bad at firing people,” notes Matthew Waxman, a former official in the George W. Bush administration.

On his Fox News show last night, Sean Hannity performed a pretty amazing and rapid about-face on the McGahn story. You can watch it courtesy of HuffPost’s Matt Fuller.

And Asha Rangappa, a former F.B.I. special agent in counterintelligence, points out the emerging Republican talking point: McGahn’s refusal shows that the Trump administration is functionally just fine. Which ... would not be accurate.