Committee Vote Proves That Protecting Mueller Investigation Is Unquestionably Bipartisan
April 26, 2018
Committee Vote Proves That Protecting Mueller Investigation Is Unquestionably Bipartisan
Statement of Lisa Gilbert, Vice President of Legislative Affairs, Public Citizen
Note: The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee today debated and approved a bipartisan bill to prevent partisan attacks on the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) special counsel investigations. The committee debated and passed S. 2644, the Special Counsel Independence and Integrity Act. Democracy and watchdog groups have called for prompt floor debate and passage of this important legislation to protect Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s inquiry into Russian meddling in U.S. elections.
Defense of democracy is not, and should not be, partisan. Today’s critical Judiciary Committee vote on legislation to proactively protect the special counsel and the Russia investigation shows that some senators still are able to put country before party when the stakes are high. We hope that the same soon will be said about the full U.S. Senate and U.S. House. We also applaud the chair and ranking member for coming to an agreement prior to the markup on an amendment that requires a report at the end of the Mueller investigation and does nothing to undermine the way the investigation is conducted.
The ever swirling rumors from the White House about the possible firing of Mueller or attempts to undermine the investigation through other changes at the Justice Department have made both legislators and the public justifiably nervous. The ongoing investigation must be allowed to play out. We the people deserve to understand how foreign countries influenced our elections so that we can ensure it never happens again. Democracy demands it.
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