Following FBI Director James Comey’s abrupt termination, a group of Democratic lawmakers has demanded a special prosecutor to investigate the Trump administration’s actions and Trump’s ties to the Russian government.
Lawmakers Voice Support for Special Prosecutor
The Democratic Party has been requesting a special prosecutor since early March when Trump’s Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced he was recusing himself from a probe into the Trump-Russia collusion. At the time, however, the American public was not convinced a special prosecutor would be necessary. Additionally, today Senator Chuck Schumer cried out for a special prosecutor to investigate Russian collusion and called for a closed-door hearing about the firing of James Comey.
Currently, a more and more lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are asking for a special prosecutor: Sen. Kamala Harris (D – CA), Sen. John McCain (R.-AZ), Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Sen. Bob Casey Jr. (D.-PA), and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY).
I’ve said it before and will again – we must have a special prosecutor to oversee the FBI’s Russia investigation. This cannot wait. https://t.co/Z9eeGNLTzr
— Kamala Harris (@SenKamalaHarris) May 9, 2017
No more excuses: We need an independent special prosecutor to investigate the Trump Administration’s ties to Russia.
— Kirsten Gillibrand (@SenGillibrand) May 9, 2017
This is Nixonian. Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein must immediately appoint a special prosecutor to continue the Trump/Russia investigation.
— Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) May 9, 2017
Watergate Reloaded
The said lawmakers are concerned the Russia story is becoming the 21th Century’s Watergate. The similarities are astonishing: just like Richard Nixon who fires several top officials to protect his back, Trump threw Comey under the buss for the exact same reason.
Moreover, the Watergate scandal started with a physical breach into the DNC’s headquarters while the Russiagate started with a cyber break-in into the DNC’s servers. Both investigations have led to Senate hearings into multiple federal government officials.
What’s more, while Nixon refused to release the White House tapes, Trump has repeatedly declined to make public his tax returns. It seems that history indeed has a tendency of repeating itself, but unlike Nixon, Trump was more successful in distancing himself from compromised Cabinet members. For example, he quickly replaced his disgraced national security adviser Michael Flynn with H. R. McMaster.
Image Source: The Hill
