Democrats have no plans to wrap up demands that Donald Trump should be investigated for alleged collusion with Russia.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer took to the floor of the chamber Thursday and said that FBI Director James Comey, who testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee Thursday confirmed what was already learned in the past few months through the press.
“That’s important in and of itself. Until now, we read these reports with a healthy dose of skepticism – waiting for Mr. Comey to confirm or refute their veracity. It appears the bulk of what we learned from the reports about Mr. Comey’s memos is true. The President asked Mr. Comey to pledge ‘loyalty’ to the President and asked him if he could ‘let go’ of an investigation into one of the president’s close associates, former National Security Advisor General Flynn. That conversation took place in a meeting during which the President raised the prospect of Mr. Comey not continuing in his job,” Schumer said.
The New York Democrat went on to say, “The Senate appreciates this testimony; and I’m sure members of the Senate Intelligence Committee will seek answers to the many remaining and new questions the testimony raises.”
“There are so many questions that Mr. Comey’s testimony leaves hanging out there,” he added. “Every single lead should be pursued. Let’s not lose sight of the very heart of this matter: a foreign adversary interfered with our democracy. There is an open counterintelligence investigation into whether members of the Trump campaign worked with that foreign adversary to help that campaign win the White House.”
House Democratic Caucus Chairman Joe Crowley said in a statement, “Former FBI Director James Comey confirmed today that President Trump attempted to use the power of the White House to pressure the FBI to drop investigations into former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn’s connections to Russia. This should deeply concern anyone invested in the future of American democracy. Comey’s testimony once again shows why an independent investigation is needed, and why both the special prosecutor’s and FBI’s investigations must continue until they uncover all of the facts.”
Comey told members of the committee that President Trump or his staff did not try to impede or stop the investigation into Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election and the president was never under investigation. But he did say he took notes of the nine times he communicated with Trump, because he believed Trump would lie about their meetings.
