[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 188 (Thursday, November 29, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Page S7199]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     SPECIAL COUNSEL INVESTIGATION

  Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, now, on another matter, the special 
counsel investigation.
  To date, the special counsel's investigation has produced no less 
than 35 indictments or plea deals--35--and that does not include two 
additional guilty pleas of people initially investigated by Mueller but 
were handed off to other branches of the Justice Department.
  Just this morning, Michael Cohen has pled guilty to lying to Congress 
about projects in Russia.
  It is a reminder that there has been a remarkable volume of criminal 
activity uncovered by the special counsel's investigation. No one, 
especially not the President, can credibly claim that the investigation 
is a fishing expedition. Calling Mueller's investigation a witch hunt 
is just a lie--plain and simple, a lie.
  The President's actions clearly show he has a lot to hide, that he is 
afraid of the truth, and doesn't want Mueller or anyone else to uncover 
it, but it hasn't stopped the President from repeating these lies. In 
fact, in recent days, President Trump has escalated his attack on 
Special Counsel Mueller. Almost daily, the President's Twitter feed is 
littered with baseless accusations about the investigation. President 
Trump retweeted an image of several of his political opponents, 
including Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein, behind bars. Can you 
believe that? The Deputy Attorney General behind bars? And this is the 
man--the President--our Republican colleagues refuse to call out 
against?
  Just yesterday, President Trump said this about a potential pardon 
for Paul Manafort, now accused of lying to prosecutors and violating 
his plea agreement. He said:

       I wouldn't take it off the table. . . . Why would I take it 
     off the table?

  That is a pardon.
  Let's not forget, President Trump has already fired the Attorney 
General and replaced him with a lackey without Senate approval. The 
nominee's only qualification seems to be that he has a history of 
criticizing the special counsel.
  So this idea that we don't need to pass legislation to protect the 
special counsel because there is no way President Trump will interfere 
with the investigation is flatout absurd.
  I once again call on my friend the majority leader to schedule a vote 
on the bipartisan bill to protect the special counsel. If he continues 
to refuse, we will push for the bill in the yearend spending agreement.
  I yield the floor.

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