Shea-Porter Statement on Comey Testimony

Statement

Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter (NH-01) released the following statement regarding former FBI Director James Comey's testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee:

"Today's testimony by former FBI Director James Comey represents a serious indictment of the President's character and his commitment to the rule of law. It is my view that today's testimony clearly indicates that President Trump tried to influence the director of the FBI regarding the investigation into former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn's connections with Russia. Regarding the President's statement he hoped former Director Comey would let the Flynn investigation go, Comey said: 'I took it as a direction.'

"In addition, today's testimony further confirmed that Attorney General Jeff Sessions is unfit to lead our Justice Department. I first called for the Attorney General's resignation after he committed perjury during his confirmation hearing by misleading Senators about his contacts with Russian officials. Today, former Director Comey revealed that he and his FBI colleagues expected the Attorney General to recuse himself from the Russia investigation for a 'variety of reasons,' including reasons he could not discuss openly. Based on the information that is already public, and bolstered by today's testimony, I continue to demand Attorney General Sessions' resignation.

"As I have said for months, Russian interference in the 2016 election is a gravely serious national security issue. Former Director Comey confirmed this in very clear terms, saying: "The Russians interfered in our election during the 2016 cycle. They did it with purpose. They did it with sophistication. They did it with overwhelming technical efforts. And it was an active measures campaign driven from the top of that government. There is no fuzz on that. It is a high confidence judgment of the entire intelligence community, and the members of this committee have seen the intelligence. It's not a close call. That happened.' A hostile government threatened our democracy, and I continue to call for an independent commission to fully investigate this interference and develop recommendations to ensure that such interference never happens again.

"Finally, I commend James Comey and the Senate Intelligence Committee for ensuring that the American people remain informed as Congress performs its crucial oversight role."

BACKGROUND

During the 115th Congress, Congresswoman Shea-Porter has repeatedly called for an independent investigation into Russian electoral interference and actively worked to root out foreign influence in our democracy and scrutinize the Trump administration's ties to Russia and Vladimir Putin. During the first week of the new Congress, Shea-Porter co-introduced the Protecting Our Democracy Act, which would create a bipartisan, independent commission to investigate attempts by the Russian government to influence and interfere with the U.S. electoral process. Shea-Porter is also fighting for the public release of President Trump's financial conflicts of interest, including his foreign financial ties to countries including Russia, as a cosponsor of the Presidential Conflicts of Interest Act of 2017.

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