[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 14]
[Senate]
[Page 19489]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        SPECIAL COUNSEL MUELLER

  Mr. SCHUMER. Now, Mr. President, a word on the special counsel. Over 
the past few weeks, I have continued to hear Republican lawmakers and 
partisan media hosts attack the integrity of Special Counsel Mueller in 
a shameful display meant to undermine his investigation into the 
connections between the Trump campaign and Russia. Spuriously attacking 
Robert Mueller, one of the most respected and trusted civil servants in 
our country, is the surest route to losing all credibility.
  I remind everyone on the right who are trying to muddy the waters on 
the Mueller investigation that Robert Mueller was a career prosecutor 
who has served both Republican and Democratic administrations in the 
most trusted of roles. He was appointed by President Trump's own Deputy 
Attorney General. It defies credulity to lambaste him as partisan or 
biased. He is as straight a shooter as they come. This is bigger than 
one man. The attacks on Special Counsel Mueller and his investigation 
erode faith in the rule of law, that bedrock principle at the heart of 
our civic life.
  If independent investigations into matters as grave as foreign 
interference in our elections succumb to intimidation and partisan 
slander, we will be no better than a third-world country. Rule of law 
will be gone, at least for the President of the United States, which is 
something Americans have treasured for centuries. What has always 
defined American democracy is an unyielding faith in the rule of law--
its power to check our people, as well as our Presidents. Special 
Counsel Mueller is the rule of law at work in our 21st century American 
democracy. Intentionally and spuriously impugning his integrity--not 
because he has done anything wrong but because they don't like what he 
is doing; very partisan, very biased, very one-sided is their view--is 
not only inaccurate but damaging to a core ideal in our country--the 
independent and impartial rule of law. We must loudly reject the 
strident voices who engage in these attacks on both ends of 
Pennsylvania Avenue.

                          ____________________