Democrats question obstruction of justice following Comey memo
Following the revelation that President Trump asked then-FBI Director James Comey to end the FBI's investigation into former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn's ties to Russia, both Senate and House Democrats are calling into question whether or not Mr. Trump committed an obstruction of justice.
Speaking on CBS This Morning, Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Virginia and former running mate to Hillary Clinton, says that "if the facts are as they are alleged, yes, it could get close to obstruction of justice."
"You have to have an intent to obstruct but you also have to take an action to obstruct, and the action was the firing," Kaine said.
Kaine said the next move is for Congress to hear directly from Comey and Mr. Trump, with any notes or alleged tapes of their conversations, in order to sort through what was asked of Comey.
Meanwhile, Rep. Adam Schiff, D-California, says he is confident Congress will acquire the Comey memo and that he will come back and testify before lawmakers on just what unfolded between himself and Mr. Trump.
Schiff added that the charges laid out in recent reports are "explosive" and that the House needs to get to the bottom of it.
"There's a lot of deep concerns on both side of the aisle over the conduct of the administration," Schiff said.
"Just the fact this administration is in constant turmoil and we haven't had an external crisis yet," Schiff said. "Both sides are deeply concerned about just how dysfunctional this administration is and just where it will lead."
Schiff reiterated calls for an independent counsel to look into the Russian investigation, saying that while there has been "increasing support" from Republican colleagues, there is still no consensus on the need for a special prosecutor to lead the charge.
Schiff added that when Congress gets the Comey memos and "if they betray conversations the president had that show lack of ethics by the president or potential illegality you'll have more than enough to compel the GOP conference to do the right thing for the country."
