Despite comments from White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer that:
- *SPICER: COMEY FIRING SHOULD BE WELCOMED BY DEMOCRATS
- *SPICER: GOAL OF COMEY FIRING WAS TO RESTORE CONFIDENCE IN FBI
- *SPICER: COMEY FIRING SHOULD RECEIVE BIPARTISAN SUPPORT
It appears his opinion is not being listened to...In a desperate bid to ensure their flip-flopping over Comey is not misunderstood, and the focus of the narrative remains on the "Russia-Trump collusion hoax," Democrats are demanding they get their say over President Trump's termination of FBI Director Comey. Chuck Schumer has called the firing a "big mistake," Elizabeth Warren has called for a special prosecutor "who Trump can't fire" in the Russian election interference probe, and Elijah Cummings has issued a statement demanding "immediate emergency hearings."
Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) says he told President Trump that his decision to fire FBI Director James Comey was a "big mistake."
"Earlier this afternoon President Trump called me and informed me he was firing Director Comey," Schumer told reporters on Tuesday. "I told the president, 'Mr. President, with all due respect, you are making a big mistake.’ ”
"They fired Sally Yates. They fired Preet Bharara. And now they fired Director Comey...This does not seem to be a coincidence," says Schumer pic.twitter.com/BPQrrLWO2t
— CBS News (@CBSNews) May 9, 2017
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) hit President Trump for his bombshell decision to fire FBI Director James Comey on Tuesday, calling on Congress to "get their heads out of the sand" and use a special prosecutor to investigate Trump.
As The Hill reports, Warren responded to the news, saying, "we need a real, independent prosecutor who [Trump] can't fire, Sessions can't intimidate and Congress can't muzzle."
Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) on Tuesday demanded “immediate emergency hearings” over President Trump’s firing of FBI Director James Comey. As The Hill reports, Cummings said in a statement.
“Congress needs to have immediate emergency hearings to obtain testimony directly from Attorney General [Jeff] Sessions, the deputy attorney general and FBI Director Comey,”
“The White House was already covering up for [former national security adviser] Michael Flynn by refusing to provide a single document to Congress, and now the President fired the one independent person who was doing the most to investigate President Trump and his [2016] campaign over allegations of coordination with Russia.”
Cummings added that Sessions’s involvement in Comey’s ouster is “mindboggling,” noting that Sessions stated that he would recuse himself from investigations into any ties between Trump and Russia.
“There is now a crisis of confidence at the Justice Department, and President Trump is not being held accountable because House Republicans refuse to work with us to do our job,” the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee added.
And the rest of The Senate Democrats appeared to be singing from the same hymn sheet, slamming President Trump's decision and drawing comparisons to former President Richard Nixon.
"This is Nixonian,” Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) said in a statement.
Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) echoed that language, noting that Trump fired Comey "in the midst of one of the most critical national security investigations in the history of our country — one that implicates senior officials in the Trump campaign and administration."
"This is nothing less than Nixonian," Leahy said.
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), ranking member on House Oversight committee: The firing "harkens back to a similarly tainted decision by President Nixon."
Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA): Comey firing "disturbingly reminiscent of the Saturday Night Massacre during the Watergate scandal & the natl turmoil that it caused."
Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA): "Time to revive Watergate vocabulary: obstruction, cover-up, suborn, conspiracy, inoperative, criminal conspiracy, independent prosecutor."
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA): "Trump firing Comey shows how frightened the Admin is over Russia investigation."
DNC Chair Tom Perez: "Trump fired the man investigating him — a deeply dangerous abuse of power. We need a special prosecutor, now."
ACLU: "The independence of the FBI director is meant to ensure that the president does not operate above the law. For President Trump to fire the man responsible for investigating his own campaign's ties to the Russians imperils that fundamental principle."
* * *Finally, we have a potential replacement...
.@SheriffClarke: If Trump made me his FBI Director I would be arresting Hillary Clinton today. #Comey pic.twitter.com/QZ0tTiJ2Zp
— Tennessee (@TEN_GOP) May 9, 2017