May 16, 2017

“I Have My Subpoena Pen Ready”: Congress Reacts to News Trump May Have Asked FBI to Stop Flynn Probe

Michael Reynolds/ CNP via ZUMA Wire

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On Tuesday evening, the New York Times reported that President Donald Trump asked former FBI director James Comey during a February meeting to end the federal investigation into Trump’s former national security adviser, Michael Flynn. The White House denied in a statement that Trump had ever asked Comey or “anyone else to end any investigation, including any investigation involving General Flynn.”

Since the latest bombshell hit, lawmakers have come out to question whether the president engaged in obstruction of justice—and one senator raised, for the first time, the prospect of impeachment. Here are some of the responses from members of Congress on Tuesday night:

“This reporting, if confirmed, would represent a grave development. The need for a special counsel and an independent commission to investigate the President’s conduct, as it relates to this issue, and his campaign’s possible coordination with Russia is urgent. The stories of the last week raise serious questions about whether the President respects the independence of the FBI and law enforcement authorities. It is vital that Congress obtain these memos and hear public testimony from former Director Comey. No one, not even the President, is above the law and the American people deserve answers about President Trump’s conduct.” — Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.)

Meanwhile, a number of Republicans were quick to unleash a flurry of “no comments”:

Democrats on the House Oversight and Judiciary committees sent a letter on Tuesday demanding a full investigation into whether Trump and his top officials engaged in an “ongoing conspiracy to obstruct” federal and congressional investigations into his campaign’s ties to Russia.

 

We will continue updating this post as more members of Congress weigh in.

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WE'LL BE BLUNT

It is astonishingly hard keeping a newsroom afloat these days, and we need to raise $253,000 in online donations quickly, by October 7.

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Readers also told us to just give it to you straight when we need to ask for your support, and seeing how matter-of-factly explaining our inner workings, our challenges and finances, can bring more of you in has been a real silver lining. So our online membership lead, Brian, lays it all out for you in his personal, insider account (that literally puts his skin in the game!) of how urgent things are right now.

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