Senate Draws Line in Sand to Protect Mueller Russia Investigation

Statement of Common Cause President Karen Hobert Flynn

The Senate Judiciary Committee is right to draw a line in the sand to protect Special Counsel Mueller’s Russia investigation and now Majority Leader Mitch McConnell must put his country before his party and allow the full Senate to pass this bipartisan legislation. No American is above the law, but President Trump has certainly hinted that he thinks that the law does not apply to him. The President’s continued threats against the investigation followed by tepid reassurances that he will leave the investigation alone “for now” are deeply troubling and completely untethered from the tenets of our democracy.

Make no mistake, Russian interference in the 2016 election was a direct attack on our democracy and must be checked and checked decisively. The investigation has already resulted in a number of guilty pleas and indictments against members of the Trump campaign, the Trump administration, as well as a number of foreign nationals. The full investigation of who was involved and who knew what when must proceed if we are to safeguard our democracy from future attacks by hostile foreign powers.

Common Cause commends Chairman Grassley and the full committee for laying down this marker to warn the President that firing Robert Mueller or Rod Rosenstein or interfering with the Russia investigation in any way will not be tolerated by the legislative branch. Senators Booker, Coons, Graham and Tillis deserve special thanks for their work to craft this bipartisan legislation.