[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 83 (Monday, May 21, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2784-S2785]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                          Russia Investigation

  Finally, Mr. President, on the probe into Putin's interference in our 
elections, in a series of tweets yesterday, President Trump demanded 
that the Justice Department start a counterinvestigation of the Russia 
investigation itself. That he would issue such an absurd and abusive 
demand based on no evidence shows just how little regard the President 
has for the rule of law.
  President Trump seems to have the terribly misguided view that the 
Department of Justice is there to protect his political interests and 
prosecute his enemies. It is not. The Department of Justice is required 
to follow the law, not the political bidding of the President's, 
particularly when they are investigating him.
  The President's demand is a blatant abuse of Executive power, an ill-
informed, sloppy attempt to discredit a duly-constituted investigation 
led by the special counsel. As we speak, the President is reportedly 
meeting with Justice Department officials to press his case, even after 
they have already called on the inspector general to look into this 
matter. The President's behavior is the kind of grossly autocratic 
behavior we would expect in a banana republic, not a mature democracy. 
By now, we should all recognize that President Trump's latest demand is 
just another example of a relentless campaign to distract from the 
serious wrongdoing being uncovered by the Russia probe.
  This weekend, it was reported that members of President Trump's inner 
circle met with emissaries and companies from several other foreign 
countries during the campaign to discuss manipulation of American 
voters in order to sway the election. This is exactly what our Founding 
Fathers feared--attempts by foreign capitals to influence American 
elections. As a reaction, the President does what he always does when 
faced with alarming news about the conduct of his campaign and the 
people in it: He kicks up dust. He tries to distract. He issues a 
flurry of tweets pointing people in every direction. That is all this 
demand for a counterinvestigation is--another distraction.
  With sadness and some reluctance, I must add that a good deal of the 
blame for the President's undemocratic behavior lies with congressional 
Republicans who have engaged in a scorched-earth campaign to discredit 
the Justice Department broadly and the special investigation 
specifically. Representative Nunes has been at the center of much of 
this campaign, but the circle of blame is widening. Paul Ryan is not 
doing his duty when he just stands aside and lets Nunes and his cohorts 
do what they are doing.
  Members of the majority here in the Senate have recently demanded 
that the DOJ hand over copious amounts of information and documents--
including potential evidence--about an ongoing criminal investigation. 
Any prosecutor

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would tell you that is not how criminal investigations operate. It is 
hard to view these requests as anything but a coordinated campaign with 
the White House to interfere with or impede Mr. Mueller's 
investigation. Frankly, these kinds of actions are enabling and 
encouraging the President to test the bounds of the rule of law in this 
country. When the President sees Republicans in Congress go after the 
special counsel investigation, he feels even more emboldened, and that 
is a shame for our country, broadly defined in history.
  There is a disturbing trend emerging. Chairman Nunes and the 
Republicans on the Hill concoct a plan to tear down the chain of 
command of the Mueller investigation. They feed it to the rightwing 
press, which churns out innuendo-laden and often factually inaccurate 
story after story. The President tweets, and the fringe conspiracy 
theories of far-right Republicans in Congress land themselves on the 
front pages of mainstream media outlets, all in the service of the 
President's despicable attempt to distract and deflect from the 
legitimate probe into Russia's interference in our elections.
  Republican, Democrat, Independent--it shouldn't matter--all Americans 
should want Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein and Special Counsel 
Mueller to continue the Russia probe and follow the facts to their 
conclusion without interference and without intimidation.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. CORNYN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mrs. Ernst). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.