Breaking News
Home / Government / Luján Statement on Trump-Russia Investigation Briefing

Luján Statement on Trump-Russia Investigation Briefing

Luján says special counsel a good first step, but independent 9/11-style commission still needed

[WASHINGTON, DC] – Congressman Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) today released the following statement after he and other House Members were briefed by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein regarding the removal of former FBI Director James Comey and the appointment of special counsel Robert Mueller:

“While much of the briefing my colleagues and I received today was classified, what we do know is that that a serious and thorough investigation is ongoing. Special counsel Robert Mueller and his team are looking into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election and examining whether the President or anyone else in the administration illegally attempted to interfere with the previous Russia-Trump investigation.”

“Appointing an independent special counsel with power to fully investigate and prosecute was an essential step – and it is important that Robert Mueller discharge that duty honorably and fairly, but this is only one step.”

“Under the statute which governs his appointment, the special counsel’s job is limited – his duty is only to look for criminal behavior and, if he finds any, to prosecute the wrongdoers. His job is not to inform the public or to pass judgment on actions that may have been unwise, inappropriate or unethical — but did not violate the law. That’s why the appointment of a special counsel does not absolve those of us in Congress from doing our duty as well.”

“The American people deserve a full accounting of Russian interference in our election and any cooperation in that meddling, including efforts to impede the investigation. If we don’t examine what went wrong and don’t take steps to fix things, it will be impossible to prevent the same type of foreign interference in future elections. That’s why I have called for Congress to appoint a special commission like the one that investigated the 9/11 attacks to fully examine what happened, how it happened and how we can prevent it from happening again.”

Check Also

Udall, Heinrich Secure Strong Funding for NM Priorities in Defense Appropriations Bill

By Tom Udall Press Office U.S. Senators Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) joined the full Senate …