Comey Testimony Highlights Need for Independent Investigation
June 8, 2017
Comey Testimony Highlights Need for Independent Investigation
Statement of Lisa Gilbert, Vice President of Legislative Affairs for Public Citizen
Note: Today, former FBI Director James Comey is testifying before the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee. On Wednesday, Public Citizen joined many other organizations and members of Congress to call for an independent investigation into the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia. Representatives of the organizations then delivered more than four million petitions calling for an independent investigation of the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia.
Today’s words from James Comey confirmed the strong evidence of potential obstruction of justice by the president of our nation, which requires an in-depth and complete investigation.
The seemingly multiple attempts by the president of the United States to derail the investigation into the Trump-Russia connection leaves a foul taste in the nation’s mouth. The only solution is an intense investigation and public transparency into these matters. We look forward to Congress pursuing such an investigation.
The conduct of President Donald Trump, as confirmed by the former FBI director, should give members of Congress still more reason to put country before party and move swiftly to create an independent commission to ensure that Americans receive the answers they so robustly deserve.
The calls for answers have only become louder and the questions more urgent. We must better understand the potential interference by Russia in the 2016 presidential race and what collusion may have occurred between members of the Trump campaign and foreign nations. We also need to understand how and if the president’s foreign entanglements and conflicts are jeopardizing our nation’s security, why President Trump has sought so aggressively to protect former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn despite his lying to the White House, and if the firing of Comey should be considered obstruction of justice in a criminal or constitutional sense.
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