[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 57 (Tuesday, April 10, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2024-S2025]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                         Seizure of Information

  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, yesterday FBI agents, at the direction of 
the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, seized 
information from President Trump's personal attorney, Michael Cohen. It 
was reported that the referral to the U.S. attorney's office originated 
with Special Counsel Mueller, but the raid itself was under the 
direction of the U.S. attorney's office and New York FBI agents.
  We don't know the reason for Special Counsel Mueller's referral. We 
do know that any referral must have been signed off by Deputy Attorney 
General Rod Rosenstein. Furthermore, the U.S. attorney's office in New 
York would have to be convinced that whatever information Mr. Mueller 
passed along was worth pursuing, and the U.S. attorney would have to 
convince an independent magistrate or judge--nonpartisan--that there 
was probable cause to believe that seizing information from Mr. Cohen 
would yield evidence of a crime. That is a serious and high standard 
that had to be met.
  I go through these details because it is important to understand that 
yesterday's events could only have been the result of a rigorous legal 
process, with checks every step of the way and with a very high burden 
of proof. Yet, last night, President Trump said the FBI raid was a 
``disgrace,'' part of a ``witch hunt,'' an ``attack on our country,'' 
and mentioned that many people have encouraged him to fire Mr. Mueller. 
``We'll see what happens,'' he concluded.
  Let's break this down. The President suggests that the latest events 
are part of the partisan conspiracy against him. I remind the President 
that the source of the referral, Special Counsel Mueller, is a lifelong 
Republican. The Deputy Attorney General who signed off on the referral, 
Rod Rosenstein, is a Republican, appointed by President Trump. The 
Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, is a Republican, appointed by 
President Trump. The U.S. attorney for the Southern District in New 
York, who sought a search warrant based on that information, is a 
Republican, appointed by President Trump. The agents in New York who 
carried out the seizure are under the direction of Christopher Wray, a 
Republican, appointed by President Trump.
  If President Trump believes this to be a partisan conspiracy, he once 
again ignores the fact that every major player is a Republican, and all 
but the judges are appointed by President Trump himself. The partisan 
affiliation of those involved really doesn't matter. These are all law 
enforcement officers simply doing their job--a job enshrined by the 
Constitution of the United States.
  The President also tweeted this morning that ``attorney-client 
privilege is dead.''
  Mr. President, attorney-client privilege is alive and well, but there 
is an exception when the attorney might be involved in a crime or 
fraud. It is well known as the crime-fraud exception. That exception is 
obviously in play today. Law enforcement officers believe there is a 
good chance that the attorney for the President committed a crime or 
was involved in fraud or they couldn't have gotten the OK from the 
magistrate to make these seizures.
  President Trump also said, the implication of his personal attorney 
for potentially serious Federal crimes constitutes an ``attack on our 
country.'' That is what he said, an ``attack on our country.''
  With due respect, President Trump, America has been around for over 
two and a half centuries. An investigation of your personal attorney is 
not an attack on our country. The Japanese bombing Pearl Harbor was an 
attack on our country; 9/11 was an attack on our country. When Russia 
interfered with our elections, that was an attack on our country. 
Investigating your personal lawyer, with a high standard to be met, is 
certainly not an attack on our country. It is what America has always 
been about and still is--the rule of law.
  President Trump said the raid was a ``disgrace.'' I say to the 
President: Mr. President, you have it wrong. Interfering with the 
investigation would be a disgrace. Calling it an attack on our

[[Page S2025]]

country is a disgrace. What matters is the rule of law. In this 
country, no man is above the law, not even the President. Mr. 
President, your comments were the disgrace.
  If the President is thinking of using this raid to fire Special 
Counsel Mueller or otherwise interfere with the chain of command in the 
Russia probe, we have one simple message for him: Don't even think 
about it.
  Special Counsel Mueller has uncovered a deep and detailed pattern of 
Russian interference in our elections. It has led to several 
indictments and guilty pleas. It has also led the Trump administration 
itself to level sanctions against Russian individuals for meddling in 
our elections. That is proof positive that Mueller's investigation is 
not a so-called witch hunt.
  If the President's own administration has leveled sanctions against 
Russian individuals for meddling in our elections, how can the 
President say it is a witch hunt? It is being pursued by his own 
administration, independent of the Mueller investigation. The 
investigation by Special Counsel Mueller is critical to the health of 
our democracy and the security of future elections. It must--it must--
be allowed to continue.
  The President seems to have a view that the Department of Justice's 
sole purpose is to protect the President and go after his enemies. I 
emphatically state to the President, that is not the role of the 
Department of Justice. Their role is to enforce the law and go after 
anyone who breaks it. That is their role, and it is not subject to the 
President's political interests in any way.
  President Trump should not have any contact--any contact--with the 
new U.S. attorney in the Southern District, with his office, or the 
Department of Justice officials overseeing an investigation of Mr. 
Cohen. Any attempted contact by the President or the White House should 
be reported to the Department of Justice immediately.
  One final point. When President Trump implies that the Mueller 
investigation is an assault on our country and our values, he is not 
only dead wrong, he is wrong in a very dangerous way. Special Counsel 
Mueller, the FBI, Federal prosecutors, and U.S. attorneys are following 
the due process of our legal system. Calling that an attack on our 
country undermines the rule of law--a bedrock principle of this great 
Nation for centuries, the reason, above all, the rest of the world 
looks up to these great United States of America.
  The only person engaging in an attack on American values, what we all 
stand for--the rule of law--is, unfortunately, President Trump. It 
needs to stop. It is gnawing at the core of America.
  It is difficult to know when you are living through a historic time 
in this country. Our Nation has prevailed through many dark times. We 
all hope that, in the sweep of history, our current moment is not one 
of peril, but we have witnessed a sustained attack by the President of 
the United States on the rule of law in this country, and we may be 
getting to that point.
  We have seen that any institution with the power to check the 
President's power--the Federal Judiciary, the Department of Justice, 
the FBI, the Congress, the press--suffers his disdain and derision. If 
we fail to defend these institutions, which represent the rule of law, 
the Constitution, and the balance of power in our country the Founding 
Fathers so brilliantly enshrined, then we are letting our grand 
democracy diminish.
  I beseech my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to stand up and 
say what the President is doing is wrong. Make it clear that firing 
Mueller or interfering in his investigation crosses a redline and is a 
threat to our constitutional order. Let us also be clear that the 
President does not have the authority to order the special counsel's 
firing without cause.
  Finally, let us take steps to protect the special counsel from 
political interference. We have several bipartisan bills designed to do 
just that. Majority Leader McConnell should bring them to the floor and 
let us debate them very soon.
  For months, Republicans have said that legislation to protect the 
special counsel is not needed because they have been assured by 
nameless people that the President will not fire the special counsel. 
That assurance has been shaken by the President's comments last night. 
By his own words, it is clear the President may--may--be considering 
firing the special counsel. This Congress must respond forcefully, and 
on a bipartisan basis, by reaffirming our belief that the President 
cannot fire the special counsel without cause and by passing 
legislation to ensure that any attempts to remove Robert Mueller will 
be unsuccessful.
  We should not abide the President's attempted assault on the rule of 
law in America. The eyes of history are upon us.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority whip.