De Blasio, Members Of New York Congressional Delegation Call For Special Prosecutor Following Comey Firing
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Mayor Bill de Blasio and members of New York's congressional delegation are all calling for a special prosecutor following President Donald Trump's firing of FBI Director James Comey.
The president's decision to fire Comey came as the FBI has been investigating whether Trump's presidential campaign was connected to Russian meddling in the election.
Speaking Wednesday on WCBS 880, de Blasio said "we need a special prosecutor."
"Did the Russians meddle in the U.S. elections? Did they try to subvert our democratic process? That is the heart of the matter and he was fired for perusing that investigation," the mayor told WCBS 880's Paul Murnane. "That's unacceptable, and obviously a huge parallel to what Richard Nixon did during Watergate and that's not a very sympathetic parallel for Donald Trump."
He added, "we have to figure out what happened with the Russians and if Trump is going to this extent to avoid that investigation all the more reason there needs to be a special prosecutor."
When asked about Comey's handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation, de Blasio said "I think there were complaints on both sides about what Comey did during the investigation."
"All the noise about Hillary Clinton and her emails, you know there was never any negative impact on the nation because of the way she handled her emails, and Comey single-handedly, you know, created lot of that dynamic with the way he handled the final days of the election," he said. "But that's water under the bridge compared to the bigger question."
Meanwhile, Democratic Congressman Hakeem Jeffries said Wednesday that "the president of the United States is a dangerous con artist."
Jeffries said Trump is hiding something, WCBS 880's Rich Lamb reported.
"The Trump campaign is under criminal investigation and that is why Donald Trump fired the lead investigator," he said.
Jeffries and other Democratic Congress members, including Nydia Velazquez, Gregory Meeks and Carolyn Maloney, all called for a special prosecutor, Lamb reported.
"This situation, this investigation is as serious as it gets," Maloney said. "We are past the time for party politics. We are dealing with matters of national security."
Trump said Wednesday that Comey was fired because he "was not doing a good job."