Powderfinger
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He can't fire him. The Deputy AG has to do it. Right now we know neither Rosenstein or Rachel Brand would do it, so Trump would have to do a Nixon...which he won't because it would start a chain of events resulting in the independent council statute getting reinstated. He's basically making all the necessary moves to eventually get check mated.
DoJ regulations suggest Rosenstein has sole authority then down the chain of command, as you note. But some legal experts argue that it is a matter of executive supremacy and that Trump can fire anybody in the executive branch. Others argue that Trump could order the DoJ regs governing the Special Counsel rescinded.
The bottom line is that the mechanics are not settled by any stretch of the imagination. We are in uncharted territory in many regards. There isn't settled law here that governs what can and cannot happen.
And even if Trump doesn't do anything too creative, he can just pressure Sessions to resign and appoint a toady (no longer recused) who will swing the axe or get rid of Rosenstein and Brand in the belief that Boente will do it.
Just as importantly, the idea that a GOP congress will necessarily pass a Special Prosecutor act if Mueller is fired is highly fanciful. Adam Schiff can claim whatever he wants. But he doesn't speak for the GOP and their silence on this issue has been deafening. They could easily commit to a Special Prosecutor Act in order to warn Trump against firing Mueller. Yet they haven't.