[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 202 (Tuesday, December 1, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Page S7126]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                     Appointment of Special Counsel

  Mr. CORNYN. Madam President, just as I came to the floor, I saw an 
announcement by the Attorney General of the United States that he was 
appointing U.S. Attorney Durham as a special counsel under the same 
provisions under which Robert Mueller was appointed as a special 
counsel. While, ordinarily, I am no fan of special counsel 
appointments, I think this one is important for a very simple reason.
  With the election of a new administration and the peaceful transfer 
of power anticipated on January 20, it is important to the country that 
the Durham investigation--wherever it may lead--be concluded in a 
nonpolitical and nonpartisan fashion and that, with whatever is 
disclosed about the efforts made at the FBI under the direction of Mr. 
Comey--under his leadership--and the actions of his subordinates at the 
FBI, it is important to the country and to the ongoing reputation of 
the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation that 
the facts be known and not be swept under the rug.
  So I congratulate the Attorney General for making that appointment, 
which ensures that the public, the American people, will finally learn 
what the facts are and not have them filtered through the media, which, 
unfortunately, has taken on some of the partisan polarization that is 
reflective of our larger society in a way that, I think, has prevented 
the facts from being fully known.
  Inspector General Horowitz, at the Department of Justice, has done a 
great service in his investigations, but the Durham investigation is, 
perhaps, the single most important investigation being conducted and 
one that, I hope, when it is concluded, will once again help to restore 
public confidence in those great American institutions known as the 
Department of Justice and the FBI.