Hirono: Comey Firing A ‘Disservice To The American People’
Schatz declares that Trump’s dismissal of the FBI director is “a full-fledged constitutional crisis.”
The firing of the head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation on Tuesday has Hawaii’s Democratic senators reacting with alarm.
“The President’s decision to fire FBI Director James Comey in this manner, under this pretext, and at this time is a total disservice to the American people,” Sen. Mazie Hirono said in a press release. “The country is asking, Mr. President, what do you have to hide?”
President Donald Trump’s attorney general, Jeff Sessions, fired Comey at a time of “a wide-ranging criminal investigation” into whether Trump’s advisers colluded with the Russian government to influence the outcome of last year’s presidential election, The New York Times reported.
Said Hirono: “There is no question that President Trump wants the investigation of Russian interference with the 2016 Presidential election, and the Trump team’s ties to those efforts, to just go away.”
She continued:
“Knowing this, it is hard to interpret the decision to fire Director Comey as being motivated by anything other than a desire to shut down or derail the FBI’s investigation. In fact, it only raises further suspicions about the Trump team’s ties to Russian interference in our election. “For months, I have called for a special prosecutor and an independent investigation into this serious matter. We need a special prosecutor who will conduct an impartial, thorough investigation untainted by political considerations.”
Meanwhile, U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz has been expressing his reaction via Twitter:
Lots of justified confusion and outrage. We need to be prepared to come back together, regardless of party, and take our democracy back.
— Brian Schatz (@brianschatz) May 9, 2017
The arguments against establishing a Special Prosecutor were weak in the first place. They have now evaporated.
— Brian Schatz (@brianschatz) May 9, 2017
When is the next Presidential press conference?
— Brian Schatz (@brianschatz) May 9, 2017
We are in a full-fledged constitutional crisis.
— Brian Schatz (@brianschatz) May 9, 2017
Hillary Clinton, the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee, has blamed Comey and Russian interference for her unexpected loss to Trump.
Sen. Chuck Schumer, the minority leader, and Republican Sen. John McCain are among those also calling for an independent investigation.
