[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 85 (Wednesday, May 17, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2995-S2996]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                          Russia Investigation

  Mr. President, every day seems to bring new, disturbing revelations 
involving this President and his administration. I almost hesitate to 
say ``every day'' because sometimes it is every hour.
  Yesterday's report that the President pressured former FBI Director 
Comey to terminate the ongoing investigation into Michael Flynn is 
extraordinary. If true, the President's conduct could warrant charges 
for obstruction of justice.
  Now, the notion that the Russia investigation could be led by a 
political appointee of this President, who serves at the pleasure of 
this President, is preposterous; yet Senate Republicans have attempted 
to justify Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein's failure to appoint a 
special counsel. Their arguments are wrong. I want to take a few 
minutes to explain why.
  The President says he fired James Comey because James Comey wouldn't 
pledge loyalty to him. Apparently, pledging loyalty to the rule of law 
was not as important. Most Americans don't care whether the Director of 
the FBI is a Republican or Democrat; they just want him or her to be 
committed to upholding the law, not a political position.
  Every lawyer knows that, when you are considering a legal question, 
you begin with a statute or regulation at issue. The relevant 
regulation, found in the Code of Federal Regulations, is worth reading 
in full.
  I ask unanimous consent that the regulation be printed in the Record 
at the conclusion of my statement.
  The rule requires that an independent special counsel be appointed if 
three conditions are met.
  The first condition is that a ``criminal investigation of a person or 
matter is warranted.'' This is not an open question in this instance--
there is already an active investigation.
  The second condition is met when an investigation by the Justice 
Department ``would present a conflict of interest for the Department or 
other extraordinary circumstances.'' If Mr. Rosenstein, a political 
appointee, were to lead this investigation, he may be forced to 
investigate both his immediate supervisor, the Attorney General, and 
the President. That is the definition of a conflict of interest. That 
alone is enough.
  But in this investigation, extraordinary circumstances abound. Last 
week, the President admitted that he fired the official leading this 
investigation because of ``this Russia thing.'' His Deputy Press 
Secretary then said, ``We want this to come to its conclusion. . . . 
And we think that we've actually, by removing Director Comey, taken 
steps to make that happen.'' Yesterday, we learned that President Trump 
may have also pressured the FBI Director to close the investigation 
into Michael Flynn's contacts with Russian officials. If these are not 
``extraordinary circumstances,'' then those words have no meaning at 
all.
  The third condition is met when ``it would be in the public interest 
to appoint an outside Special Counsel.'' I cannot recall a more serious 
national security investigation. Russian interference in our election, 
possible collusion with the Trump campaign and administration, and the 
President's repeated assaults on the rule of law have eroded trust in 
our democratic institutions like nothing I have seen. According to the 
President's own statements, this investigation has been repeatedly 
compromised by political interference.
  Because all three conditions are met, the Deputy Attorney General 
does not have a choice in this matter. It is not discretionary. The 
regulation requires that Mr. Rosenstein appoint a special counsel. Each 
minute that he refuses

[[Page S2996]]

to follow this rule, he further diminishes the integrity of this 
investigation, as well as the integrity of the Justice Department 
itself.
  I would ask anyone who still claims that a special counsel is not 
required to reconcile their opinion with the Justice Department rules. 
We may disagree on policy matters, but I hope we all agree on the 
supremacy of the rule of law and that no person and no President should 
be above it.
  I know some Republicans have expressed concerns about the integrity 
of this investigation in public, and many others have expressed it to 
me privately. At this critical time, we cannot stand on the sidelines. 
We have a constitutional requirement to act as a check and balance on 
the conduct of the President. That starts with joining the call for a 
special counsel.
  Mr. President, I love the Senate. I think of the Senate as a place 
that can be the conscience of our Nation. But more than that, I love 
the system of government where we have real checks and balances. I 
respect the executive branch, the legislative branch, and the judicial 
branch, but in my decades here, I have never seen such an assault by 
the President of the United States on the integrity and the 
independence of our Federal court system; the assault on our free 
press, including the suggestion that we should pass new libel laws to 
go after members of the press who might dare criticize this 
administration; or the assault, of course, on the Congress; or the 
pitting of one religion against another--this undermines everything 
that has kept this nation strong. It is not just our weapons and our 
military. As General Clapper indicated the other day, if we break down 
our institutions of government, if we let them attack each other and 
break each other down, then they lose credibility, and we as a country 
suffer.
  Our Nation is too great for this, and we Senators in both parties 
have to stand up and help bring the country back together.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:


     28 C.F.R. Sec. 600.1 Grounds for appointing a Special Counsel.

       The Attorney General, or in cases in which the Attorney 
     General is recused, the Acting Attorney General, will appoint 
     a Special Counsel when he or she determines that criminal 
     investigation of a person or matter is warranted and--
       (a) That investigation or prosecution of that person or 
     matter by a United States Attorney's Office or litigating 
     Division of the Department of Justice would present a 
     conflict of interest for the Department or other 
     extraordinary circumstances; and
       (b) That under the circumstances, it would be in the public 
     interest to appoint an outside Special Counsel to assume 
     responsibility for the matter.

  Mr. LEAHY. I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Arkansas.