[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 47 (Monday, March 19, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H1655-H1656]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   IT IS TIME TO STAND UP FOR AMERICA

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Tennessee (Mr. Cohen) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, today, I rise to talk about the events of 
Friday night and concern for the continued special counsel position of 
Robert Mueller.
  On Friday night, late, the Deputy Director of the FBI, Mr. Andrew 
McCabe, was fired. I haven't seen the IG report. Nobody has seen it. It 
won't be available until April. But it is concerning that, that late at 
night, people were working at Justice to fire a career employee and 
possibly deprive him of his pension.
  Mr. McCabe believes the reason he was fired was because of his 
knowledge of Mr. Comey's conversations with the President, and his own 
conversations with the President, and his being a corroborating 
witness. I don't know what the cause was, but the process was awful. It 
was rushed, and it seemed to violate the due process rights of this 
career Federal employee.
  And then to watch the President of the United States, a 
multibillionaire, spike the ball on being able to deprive a 20-year 
Federal employee of a pension was cruel, un-American, and mean-
spirited. It was a shot across the bow at other government officials 
who are doing their jobs--Justice Department officials, FBI officials, 
law enforcement officials who love this country and put their lives on 
the line--and that if they don't agree with the Mueller investigation 
continuing; or if they see concerns about the United States President 
and his campaign and some involvement with Russia or with obstruction 
of justice, or violations of emoluments clauses; that they too risk 
their jobs and risk their pensions, and risk their financial security.

  It is a scary time in America, and we are looking at the abyss.

[[Page H1656]]

  In December, I was concerned about this as well. And Representative 
Walter Jones from North Carolina, a Republican, and I, have a 
bipartisan bill, H.R. 4669, which has a Senate companion filed, and is 
bipartisan as well, by Senator Tillis and Senator Coons, which is S. 
1741; and it gives the special counsel due process if he is fired for 
causes that are not objective--related to his job and the performance 
of his duties.
  But it means he couldn't be fired for politics and he couldn't be 
fired to squelch an investigation concerning the very fundamentals of 
this country and allegiance and adherence to the Constitution and the 
laws of the United States of America for which we have all taken an 
oath to uphold. Nothing is more sacred.
  If the President has done nothing wrong, as he has said on many 
occasions, and he has tweeted recently about Mr. Mueller and said it is 
a ``witch hunt'' and said there is no collusion. If there is no 
collusion, if there is no obstruction of justice, if there are no 
violations, the President should, as Representative Trey Gowdy has 
said, welcome the continuation of the investigation to clear him.
  As Representative Trey Gowdy said: He is not acting like a man who is 
innocent. And Representative Charlie Dent has said similar things.
  If you have nothing to hide, why stop an investigation if there is 
nothing to find? And if there is something to find and something for 
the American people to know about, and for Congress to know about and 
act on, then it is incumbent on us to protect Mr. Mueller and protect 
that investigation.
  That is why we have these bipartisan bills. I know there is 
Democratic support for these bills, but there hasn't been Republican 
support that I know of, beyond Senator Tillis and Representative Walter 
Jones.
  I call on Speaker Ryan to schedule this bill, have it scheduled in 
Representative Goodlatte's committee, my committee, the Judiciary 
Committee, for a hearing, or bring it directly to the floor for a vote.
  I call on Representative Goodlatte to schedule the bill for a markup 
and have it voted on.
  But, more importantly, I call on my Republican colleagues to stand up 
for America and stand up for their oath of office.
  We get along, Republicans and Democrats. Republicans are good people, 
too. They have different thoughts on certain issues and different 
perspectives than most Democrats and I do. But we all believe in an 
America that should not be capitulating to Russia, and an America that 
shouldn't be seeing the Constitution shredded and laws violated.
  So I call on my Republican colleagues to look into their soul, look 
into their heart, remember their oath. Sign on to H.R. 4669, as 
Representative Walter Jones has, and stand up for America.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are reminded to refrain from 
engaging in personalities toward the President.

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