Democrats call for independent probe
WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump’s firing of FBI Director James Comey in the middle of several investigations of possible Trump campaign ties to last year’s Russian meddling in U.S. elections caused a firestorm of protest from Democratic members of Congress, with many calling for the appointment of a special prosecutor.
Some equated the firing with events known as the “Saturday Night Massacre” during the Watergate scandal that brought down President Richard Nixon.
Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said he told Trump that he had made a “big mistake” when informed of the decision.
Schumer wondered aloud whether the firing meant Comey’s investigation was “getting too close to home,” and he said the handling of a credible investigation depends on Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein naming a “fearless, independent” special prosecutor.
Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona called for the creation of a special congressional committee on Russia, while Rep. Justin Amash (RMich.) said he and his staff were “reviewing legislation to establish an independent commission on Russia.”
“James Comey is a man of honor and integrity, and he has led the FBI well in extraordinary circumstances,” McCain said.
Comey, a Republican who had served in the George W. Bush administration as second in command in the Justice Department, was the surprise choice of President Barack Obama for the FBI post.
Rep. Adam Schiff of California, the top Democrat on the troubled House Intelligence Committee, said the firing raised profound questions about White House interference in a criminal probe.
“The decision by a president whose campaign associates are under investigation by the FBI for collusion with Russia to fire the man overseeing that investigation, upon the recommendation of an attorney general who has recused himself from that investigation, raises profound questions about whether the White House is brazenly interfering in a criminal matter,” Schiff said, likening the event to the Watergate firings.
Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) suggested Trump’s action poses serious constitutional issues, while others called the development “Nixonian.”
Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), who questioned Comey at a hearing before a Judiciary subcommittee this week, said the way Trump is handling the firing “is shocking.”
“No one should accept President Trump’s absurd justification that he is now concerned that FBI Director Comey treated Secretary (Hillary) Clinton unfairly,” Leahy said.
Others reacted with more measured tones. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) the ranking member of the Judiciary Committee, said simply that she had been informed by the president of his decision by phone, adding, “the next FBI director must be strong and independent and will receive a fair hearing in the Judiciary Committee.”
One of the earliest Republican reactions came from Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Corker (R-Tenn.): “While the case for removal of (FBI Director Comey) laid out by Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein was thorough, his removal at this particular time will raise questions.”