On the recordMay 17, 2017
I rise today to discuss the recent firing of FBI Director Jim Comey and Russian interference in our democracy. Jim Comey was my law school classmate, and I know that in my State he has a lot of respect from our agents and also from law enforcement in general in our State. When we had the stabbing in the mall in St. Cloud, MN--it was just with our police chief from St. Cloud--it was the FBI that came in and helped at the crime scene and with other things, because for a smaller police department it is difficult to deal with something like that and because they also had work to do working with the community to calm people. The result was a good one because of the courageous work of an off- duty police officer. While people were injured, no one was killed, and the investigation was completed. This is just one example of the work the FBI has done when Director Comey was in charge. I think we focus very much on what goes on in this town, but there are a lot of agents and law enforcement out there who have deep respect for him. Last week, when Director Comey was fired, I came to the floor and said that in the recent months foundational elements of our democracy-- including the rule of law--have been questioned, challenged, and even undermined. Today I return to the floor with the same concern.…
