[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 28 (Thursday, February 16, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1225-S1226]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   INVESTIGATION INTO TIES BETWEEN THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION AND THE 
                           RUSSIAN GOVERNMENT

  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, we are in a moment of profound unease 
about the stability of the executive branch of our government.
  The recent reports about General Flynn detailing constant, high-level 
contact between members of the Trump administration and the Russian 
Government raise serious doubts about this administration's competence 
in the realm of foreign policy and national security and even graver 
doubts about the sanctity of our democratic process.
  We do not know all the facts, and in the coming days and weeks, more 
information may well surface about these disturbing revelations, but we 
already know that something is rotten in the state of Denmark.
  I have been in Congress a long time, and I have never, ever seen 
anything like this. The institutions of government are being tested in 
a way they have not been tested in some time.
  At this juncture, we would all do well to remember that democracy--
the most benevolent, desirable, effective, and just form of government 
devised by man--is also one of the most fragile systems of government 
devised by man. It requires constant vigilance and strong democratic 
institutions to bolster one another.
  At the time of the drafting of the Constitution, Thomas Jefferson 
expressed doubt that a government founded on such a document could long 
endure. Varying factions in our founding generation worried 
alternatively about the threats posed by mob rule and potential 
autocrats.
  One of the things that the Framers of the Constitution most worried 
about was the threat of foreign intervention in our government, what 
they called foreign intrigue. Federalist No. 68, likely authored by a 
famous resident of my State, Alexander Hamilton, labeled the ``desire 
in foreign powers to gain an improper ascendant in our councils'' as 
one of the ``most deadly adversaries of republican government.'' That 
fear is the origin of the emoluments clause, which safeguards against 
bribery of government officials by foreign powers.
  It cannot be that officers at the highest echelons of our 
governmentowe favors to foreign capitals. But it may well be that a 
high-level member of President Trump's campaign and administration, 
General Flynn, violated the emoluments clause by accepting money from 
the Russian Government during a trip to Moscow in 2015. The reported 
contact between operatives in the Trump campaign and Russian 
intelligence officials is exactly the kind of intrigue that our 
Founders sought to prohibit.
  I mention all of this because I believe the stakes to be very high. 
This is not a drill. Nothing less than our system of checks and 
balances, the rule of law, and our national security is at stake.
  Our Nation does not face moments like this often. Frankly, the fact 
that foreign powers would have high influence in our government has not 
been on the front page for decades. But the wisdom of the Founding 
Fathers shines through. It is a real danger, and now the possibility of 
that danger being real is here today.
  History will look upon us and will no doubt judge our efforts to stem 
this wrong wherever it occurs. Our Nation does not face moments like 
this often.
  From the earliest days of the Republic, what has always sustained us 
has been the strength of our democratic institutions of government. We 
have distinct pillars of power that check and balance one another for 
the very purpose of fortifying our government whenever one branch is 
deficient. On this matter, the legislative branch has a responsibility 
to be that check and balance via our oversight duties.
  All of us can agree that right now what are required are the facts. 
We have to evaluate the scope of Russia's interference in our election 
and assess if agents of their government have penetrated to the highest 
levels of our government. Throughout the process, we have to avoid 
jumping to conclusions or engaging in wild speculation. We must seek 
the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Once we have all 
the facts at our disposal, Democrats and Republicans alike can debate 
what to do next.
  The investigation should proceed along two tracks. The first is 
Congress. My friend from Virginia, Senator Warner, the ranking member 
on the Senate Intelligence Committee, is committed to using every 
resource and authority in that committee to seek the truth. His 
committee will take the lead, but it will not be the only committee 
that looks into ties between the Trump campaign, transition, or 
administration, and Russia. The Judiciary, Foreign Relations, HSGAC, 
Banking, and Commerce Committees all have significant roles at getting 
to the bottom of this. They should also move forward in their areas of 
jurisdiction. These committee investigations must be bipartisan; they 
must have access to all intelligence officials, transcripts, documents, 
and other related materials that they need to answer critical 
questions; and they must be permitted to make their findings public to 
the maximum extent possible.
  Of course, anything that Congress does requires Republican support 
because they are in the majority. I am gratified that some of our 
Republican colleagues have called for that. Bipartisan letters from the 
Judiciary Committee and the Intelligence Committee have been and are 
being sent last night and today. These letters will ask for document 
preservation, briefings, and for information related to the 
investigations.
  As for the Intelligence Committee, Senator Burr, the chairman, 
originally expressed skepticism about his committee proceeding with an 
investigation into the ties between the Trump campaign and Russia, but 
he is now working well with Senator Warner to do this. We will be 
watching very carefully. If the Intelligence Committee investigation is 
not proceeding to unearth the entire truth, we will seek alternative 
tools and structures to get to the truth because get to the truth we 
must.
  The second part of the investigation is in the executive branch, 
where law enforcement resides. While Congress has a constitutional 
oversight ability to bring facts to light, it is only the executive 
branch that can prosecute potential criminal liability.
  The two are not mutually exclusive. They are not either/or. They must 
move forward simultaneously on parallel tracks.
  On the executive branch side, three specific things must now happen:
  First, Attorney General Sessions must follow Department of Justice 
guidance and recuse himself.
  When the FBI looks into a matter, they do so right alongside 
prosecutors from the Justice Department. Those prosecutors should not 
be reporting to the first Senator who endorsed Donald Trump's campaign, 
who served on the same campaign committee as General Flynn, and who 
nominated Donald Trump at the Republican convention. The Justice 
Department's own guidelines demand that Attorney General

[[Page S1226]]

Sessions remove himself from this matter immediately. If he does not, 
he will be breaking serious guidelines that have been in place for 
decades, followed by both Republican and Democratic administrations 
alike. To disregard or ignore these rules would be a major 
transgression by this administration, so early in its term, and would 
bode poorly for the future impartiality of the criminal justice system.
  We now know that the President and the Attorney General are meeting 
today. Of course the President needs to meet with the Attorney General; 
that is important for national security. But until the Attorney General 
recuses himself, those meetings raise serious questions. There will be 
a cloud hanging over every meeting and conversation between the 
President and the Attorney General until the Attorney General recuses 
himself. We presume that they would not even think of discussing the 
investigation--that the Attorney General and the President would not--
because if they were to discuss any investigation, it would constitute 
a massive, massive ethical violation.
  Second, to reiterate, from the executive branch point of view, we 
expect the administration will order all records from administration, 
transition, and campaign officials to be preserved.
  There is real concern that some in the administration may try to 
cover up its ties to Russia by deleting emails, texts, or other records 
that could shine a light on these connections. These records are likely 
to be the subject of executive branch as well as congressional 
investigations and must be preserved.
  Third, campaign, transition, and administration officials must be 
made available to testify in public, under oath, on these issues.
  It has been reported that campaign officials have had constant 
contact with Russian intelligence officials. They must testify.
  Our caucus is united in these three requests, and we hope and expect 
our Republican colleagues to join in these appeals as well.
  Senate Democrats are faithfully committed to keeping this issue above 
partisan politics. The gravity of this issue demands nothing less.
  Throughout the history of this country, the Senate has come together 
to steer the ship of state through stormy seas when the times required 
it. Republican Senators like Howard Baker, Hugh Scott, and Bob Dole 
rose above politics during the Watergate, Iran-Contra, and Whitewater 
scandals to demand the truth. I am very hopeful my Republican 
colleagues on the other side will follow in that grand tradition. I am 
very hopeful the other side wants to get at all the facts, just as our 
side wants to get at all the facts.
  I disagree with my friends on the other side of the aisle often on a 
number of issues--often, we disagree vociferously--but I have never 
once doubted their patriotism. This is an issue on which patriotism 
must prevail over politics because before we are Democrats or 
Republicans, we are Americans, with respect for the rule of law.
  I have a hope and a faith that these reports and revelations will not 
pit the two parties against one another--that they will unite the 
parties in pursuit of the full truth.
  I yield the floor.

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