[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 175 (Monday, October 30, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Page S6862]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          RUSSIA INVESTIGATION

  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, good afternoon. This morning, the former 
chairman of the Trump campaign for President and a close associate 
turned themselves in to Federal authorities on a dozen charges, 
including acting as unregistered agents of a foreign power and 
conspiracy against the United States. The indictments of Mr. Manafort 
and Mr. Gates show that the special counsel's probe is progressing in a 
very serious way. Mueller is moving forward.
  What we know now is that an alleged unregistered foreign agent, who 
is charged with laundering tens of millions of dollars from foreign 
governments on behalf of their agenda, was given a chairmanship of a 
campaign for the Presidency of the United States and, with it, untold 
influence on the future President and his party. We know that Mr. 
Manafort has had continuing contact with the President since his 
resignation from the campaign.
  Just as shocking was the admission by a Trump campaign adviser that 
he met with a Kremlin contact to discuss so-called ``dirt'' on 
Secretary Clinton. While we know that Mr. Papadopolous had extensive 
email exchanges with other Trump officials regarding his outreach to 
Russian officials, his admission released today raises many more 
questions than it answers. Mr. Mueller and his team should be allowed 
to seek answers to those questions without interference from the 
President or anyone else.
  The stakes could not be higher. We are talking about the pride and 
wellspring of our grand democracy--free and fair elections--which have 
been going on for more than two centuries and were disturbed and 
adulterated by a hostile, foreign power, with no good intent for the 
people of this country. It is critical that we need to get to the 
bottom of this. That is Special Counsel Mueller's job, and he must be 
allowed to perform it without interference.
  The rule of law is paramount in America. We pride ourselves on it. 
The investigation must be allowed to proceed unimpeded. The President 
must not, under any circumstances, in any way, interfere with the 
special counsel's work. If he does, Congress must respond swiftly, 
unequivocally, and in a bipartisan way to ensure that the investigation 
continues and the truth--the whole truth comes out.

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