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U.S. senators from Connecticut on the firing of James Comey
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President Donald Trump (R) fired Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director James Comey on May 9, 2017. Trump stated in a letter that he no longer had confidence in Comey's ability to lead the agency.[1]
Comey's dismissal occurred after Trump received a memo from Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to Attorney General Jeff Sessions recommending Comey's removal. According to the memo, Rosenstein recommended Comey's ouster due to what Rosenstein and his colleagues viewed as mistaken actions taken by Comey during the course of the investigation into former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton's private email server. Trump later stated that he had lost confidence in Comey's ability to lead the agency and had made the decision to fire Comey prior to receiving the memo. According to White House Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the memo was the "final straw that pushed [Trump]" to remove Comey from the post.[2][3]
Comey's dismissal sparked varying responses from congressional members. Many Democrats and Republicans expressed concern over the firing in light of the FBI's ongoing investigation into Russia's involvement in the 2016 presidential election. Others supported Trump's decision, stating that he had acted within his authority as president and citing many Democrats' prior condemnations of Comey during the course of the Clinton email investigation. Comey's removal also sparked calls from a number of Democrats to appoint a special prosecutor to lead the FBI's Russia investigation.[2][3]
On May 16, 2017, The New York Times reported that Comey had penned a memo documenting a conversation in which Trump allegedly asked Comey to halt an investigation into former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn. The report generated additional responses by congressional members.[4]
U.S. Senators from Connecticut on the firing of James Comey
Chris Murphy (D)
U.S. Senator Chris Murphy released the following statement regarding Comey's firing on May 10, 2017:
| “ | No matter the mistakes that Director Comey has made, the timing of his firing clearly suggests that President Trump is trying to influence or upend the FBI's investigation into his campaign's possible collusion with a foreign government. It simply defies logic that President Trump, who made the FBI investigation of Hillary Clinton's e-mails a centerpiece of his campaign, would all of the sudden convert to the view that Clinton was treated unfairly.
Two things must happen now. First, clearly the time is now for an independent prosecutor. The president's continued refusal to support the appointment of a prosecutor would confirm America's worst fears about the motivation for Comey's firing. Second, the Senate must rise to this constitutional challenge and insist that Director Comey be replaced by a person of unquestioned independence and integrity, not a partisan hack. The Senate, designed by the Founding Fathers as the guardian of democratic norms, must now rise to meet the gravity of this moment.[5][6] |
” |
Richard Blumenthal (D)
U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal released the following statement regarding Comey's firing on May 9, 2017:
| “ | The need for a special prosecutor is now crystal clear. President Trump has catastrophically compromised the FBI’s ongoing investigation of his own White House’s ties to Russia. Not since Watergate have our legal systems been so threatened, and our faith in the independence and integrity of those systems so shaken. The only way to restore faith in a non-political, non-partisan FBI is to appoint an independent special prosecutor.[7][6] | ” |
According to The Hill, Blumenthal made the following comments regarding reports that Comey had penned a memo documenting a conversation in which Trump allegedly asked Comey to halt an investigation into former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn:
| “ | 'We are witnessing an obstruction of justice case unfolding in real time,' Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said in a statement.
'I am stunned that any of my colleagues would possibly oppose the appointment of an independent special prosecutor after this astonishing revelation and other mounting evidence of political interference in a criminal investigation,' he said.[8][6] |
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See also
- Congressional responses to the firing of James Comey
- House Intelligence Committee investigation on Russian activity in 2016 presidential election
- Hillary Clinton email investigation
Footnotes
- ↑ The New York Times, "F.B.I. Director James Comey Is Fired by Trump," May 9, 2017
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 CNN, "Trump: I was going to fire Comey regardless of DOJ recommendation," May 11, 2017
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 NPR, "'I Will Be Fine,' Comey Reportedly Tells FBI Agents In Farewell Letter," May 10, 2017
- ↑ The Atlantic, "The House Demands to See the Comey Memos," May 16, 2017
- ↑ U.S. Senator Chris Murphy, "MURPHY STATEMENT ON FIRING OF FBI DIRECTOR JAMES COMEY," May 10, 2017
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Richard Blumenthal, "Blumenthal Statement on the Firing of FBI Director James Comey," May 9, 2017
- ↑ The Hill, "Dem lawmakers voice shock, outrage on Comey memo," May 16, 2017