[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 14]
[Senate]
[Pages 20557-20558]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                          RUSSIA INVESTIGATION

  Mr. BLUMENTHAL. Mr. President, I thank my colleague, Senator Mark 
Warner from Virginia, for his powerful and eloquent remarks on the 
floor less than 24 hours ago. He talked about the threat that exists 
now--looming larger every day--of a constitutional crisis. It is a 
crisis that threatens the foundations of our democracy. It involves a 
potential confrontation and, indeed, a legal conflagration between the 
President of the United States and the special counsel who has been 
appointed to investigate wrongdoing in our government.
  None of the facts that justified--indeed, required--the appointment 
of a special counsel has been controverted in any reasonable way by 
anyone since the appointment of that special counsel. Now a campaign of 
mistruth and misdirection has been launched against that special 
counsel investigation. It is a campaign that is calculated, concerted, 
and coordinated. It is calculated because it is planned and 
premeditated; it is concerted in its consistency and vehemence; and it 
is coordinated among officials within the government, including the 
U.S. Congress and commentators and individuals outside the government.
  The danger of a constitutional crisis is real and urgent, and we must 
come together in the U.S. Senate to face it and address it and deal 
with it.
  This body has come together in the past when America has faced a 
foreign adversary that has sought to do our Nation harm. We have come 
together to hold our leaders accountable when they have broken faith 
with the American people. We have come together when forces of 
dissension and misdirection have sought to undermine or weaken respect 
for the law and law enforcement and, indeed, the rule of law. What is 
at stake here is nothing less than the rule of law.
  Let's recognize what is happening. The President, in effect, is going 
down two tracks. On the one hand, he is saying that he has no present 
intention to fire the special counsel or to pardon anyone--yet. He adds 
that word very distinctly. The other track involves a coordinated, 
concerted, and calculated campaign that is continuing--indeed, rising--
in intensity and volume.
  The President's supporters, even in raising that volume, have reached 
extraordinary lows. Let's remember. At first, our Republican colleagues 
appeared to recognize that Robert Mueller was eminently--indeed, 
uniquely--qualified for his important task. Republican House Members 
called him a ``man of the utmost integrity'' and ``someone we all 
trust.'' Now we hear that the Mueller investigation is somehow biased. 
One commentator known to be close to President Trump suggested that the 
special counsel should not only be fired, he should be arrested. Even 
Members of Congress who once recognized Mr. Mueller's stellar record as 
a member of the Armed Forces, as well as in his capacity as the FBI 
Director, as a prosecutor, and as a public servant, have impugned his 
integrity. Indeed, they have begun to sow seeds of doubt.
  A chorus of defenders and sycophants has launched this campaign--
calculated, concerted, and coordinated--to smear the special counsel, 
to impugn the integrity of the FBI--to, indeed, directly attack this 
great and important institution. They have decided to do it in that 
concerted and coordinated and calculated way. The President, himself, 
has said that the FBI's reputation is in tatters.
  An article that appeared today in POLITICO described an effort by a 
House Republican on the Intelligence Committee to initiate a sustained 
attack on the Department of Justice and the FBI. The President's chorus 
of defenders and sycophants describes routine law enforcement 
activities as a ``coup'' and traffics in the kinds of conspiracy 
theories that we usually associate with fringe internet chat rooms.
  What is their justification for this vituperative attack on the 
Department of Justice and the FBI?
  One of the FBI agents expressed his political views in a private text 
to an FBI attorney, but the special counsel took swift and decisive and 
deliberate action to remove that FBI agent from the investigation.
  More broadly, let's recognize the reality here. As a Federal 
prosecutor, as the U.S. attorney for Connecticut for 4\1/2\ years, and 
then as the State attorney general for 20 years, I know--and all of us 
who have been prosecutors know--that investigators, like FBI agents, 
have political views. Some are on the right end of the political 
spectrum; some are on the left. The mark of their professionalism is 
that they

[[Page 20558]]

leave them at home when they go to work. They park them at the door, 
not just because it is what they are taught and trained to do, but they 
believe in unbiased law enforcement because they know that a criminal 
investigation, ultimately, comes down to facts and law. It cannot be 
based on political opinions. Investigations that are biased by 
political opinions are doomed to disaster.
  Perhaps most importantly, there is not a scintilla of fact--not a 
shred of evidence--that the special counsel investigation has been 
impacted in any way by any political view of any FBI agent or, for that 
matter, anyone else in that investigation. There is, simply, no 
evidence that political views have impacted the special counsel's 
investigation.
  The simple fact that prosecutors know is that all such investigations 
must seek to uncover the facts and apply the law, and that is what 
Special Counsel Robert Mueller has done. The proof is in the results so 
far--two powerful convictions that have shattered the Trump Presidency 
and two indictments that indicate this investigation is just at its 
beginning, not at the beginning of the end but, simply, the end of the 
beginning. These trials of the two indictments will go well into next 
year, as will the investigation. That there will be more convictions 
and more indictments, I think, can be pretty reliably predicted to a 
near certainty.
  Beyond this investigation, we all know in this Chamber--and, 
certainly, any of us who have been involved in law enforcement--that 
public trust and confidence are essential. The President, himself, has 
said he is ``a true friend and loyal champion'' for law enforcement and 
``more loyal than anyone else can be.'' He has pointed out that law 
enforcement officials, like our police and FBI agents and DEA and 
others, ``rush into danger every day,'' and he has criticized the folks 
who have subjected them to ``relentless criticism.'' He has promised to 
always stand with them. Those promises apply, apparently, to law 
enforcement as long as they are not investigating him.
  The President has said that he has no present intention to fire the 
special counsel, but he has far from ruled it out. For anyone who 
thinks it would be too outside the bounds of normal standards, remember 
that the firing of Jim Comey as FBI Director was regarded as 
unthinkable. It was unthinkable until President Trump did it.
  Equally important, this chorus of defenders and sycophants can 
undermine the Mueller investigation even if Mueller, himself, is never 
fired. They can poison the well of public opinion and, indeed, a jury 
pool. They can sow seeds of doubt regarding the special counsel and his 
team, and they can lay the groundwork for firing Robert Mueller as well 
as for issuing pardons.
  Let no one have any doubt. Firing Robert Mueller would create a 
firestorm that would be every bit as vehement as the Saturday Night 
Massacre. It would provoke an uprising, an outcry, and outrage in the 
American people and in this Chamber. The time to make that fact clear 
is now, not just for this side of the aisle but with unanimity and 
force on both sides.
  That chorus of defenders and sycophants may think or imagine it can 
prevent the special counsel from revealing his finding or reporting to 
the American people at the conclusion of his investigation or that it 
can discredit or demean those findings or that it can undermine his 
credibility before a jury. It would be wrong because this body and our 
colleagues are committed to uncovering the truth, to pursuing it 
wherever it leads, and to enforcing the law.
  That is my hope and belief, but it must not only be a hope; it must 
be reflected in action--in real action. That involves passing 
legislation that will send a message about this body's resolute and 
unwavering commitment to making sure that the special counsel cannot be 
fired, that pardons cannot be issued, and that this investigation 
cannot be a victim of political interference.
  The President has indicated that he is averse to hearing about Russia 
or considering its threat to this country. That aversion certainly sets 
back his ability to defend this country against the Russian threat by 
sanctions and other means and deterrents that will assure that Russia 
is made to pay a price so they do not do it again.
  In conclusion, let me just say that that aversion must be overcome. 
We need to send a signal, as we did by passing sanctions, that we will 
take action against Russia to stop it from interfering again in this 
election, that we will make sure that Russia is made to pay a price, 
and that our constituents know that we will insist on a fair and 
independent investigation without political interference, passing 
legislation that is bipartisan that has been offered by Republicans as 
well as Democrats, including myself, and should be moved through the 
Judiciary Committee and to the floor of this Congress. That message is 
all the more important now as this investigation penetrates the White 
House for the first time in the Flynn conviction, coming closer to the 
Oval Office itself. A real and robust congressional investigation of 
those efforts through the Judiciary Committee, as well as obstruction 
of justice, continues to be necessary, but we should combine our 
efforts to make sure that law enforcement and the judicial process 
moves forward without political interference that will undermine its 
credibility.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mrs. Capito). The Senator from Ohio.
  Mr. BROWN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that following my 
remarks, I yield the floor to Senators Johnson and Markey.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there objection?
  Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. BROWN. Madam President, I wish to thank my colleagues Senator 
Warner and Senator Blumenthal for their words on the Senate floor--
Senator Warner's words yesterday especially, defending Special Counsel 
Robert Mueller, in his leadership on the Senate Intelligence 
Committee's Russia investigation. Senator Warner is absolutely right 
that we must protect the integrity of the Justice Department's 
independent investigation.
  Congress needs to make clear that there are redlines. Any attempt to 
fire Robert Mueller, to shut down the investigation, or to 
presumptively pardon key witnesses essential to the investigation would 
be an abuse of power and a direct threat to the rule of law and to our 
constitutional system.
  Ohio's Ukrainian community knows the impact of unchecked Russian 
aggression in Russia's effort to undermine democracy around the world. 
Getting to the bottom of Russian interference and protecting our future 
elections from that interference are critical.
  My priority is getting to the bottom of what happened so that our 
democratic process is upheld and so we can move forward with the 
business we were sent here to do--creating jobs, combatting the opioid 
crisis, as Senators Johnson, Markey, and I will speak about in a 
moment, and helping middle-class families. Any efforts to delay that 
conclusion or interfere in the investigation, I believe, will not be 
tolerated by Senators in either party.
  Thanks to Senator Warner for making that clear. Thanks to my 
colleagues in both parties who take this seriously. All of us have had 
serious conversations with Members of both parties to discuss what all 
this means, and thank you for all of us working together to complete 
the independent Senate investigation. It is important that we make 
clear to the American people that this is not a partisan issue. It is 
about the integrity of our elections, about protecting our country from 
foreign powers.
  Any attempt to discredit Robert Mueller and his investigation and to 
turn it into a partisan issue makes us less safe as a nation. Let's 
allow the Justice Department and the special counsel to do their jobs. 
Let's get back to doing ours.

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