Russia and Special Counsel Legislation

Floor Speech

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Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, on another issue, Russia and Mueller, yesterday it was reported that President Trump overruled the decision of his administration to implement new sanctions against Russia for its support of the brutal Assad regime in Syria in the wake of a chemical weapons attack that was devastating. Our hearts go out when we see pictures like this.

It is only the latest action in a long pattern of behavior in which President Trump opts to treat Russia and President Putin with kid gloves. It took a very long time for President Trump to even utter a negative word about Mr. Putin, and his administration has time and again delayed the implementation of sanctions.

Reports in the press said that President Trump was unhappy with his administration's decision to expel 60 Russian diplomats after British citizens were victims of a Russian-linked attack. The decision to expel those diplomats was correct, in my view, but apparently the President wasn't happy with the decision by his own appointed national security team.

The White House shouldn't have to drag the President kicking and screaming to do the right thing when it comes to punishing Vladimir Putin and Russia. His refusal to stand up to the Kremlin is troubling, and it leaves many Americans wondering: Why and what does the President have to hide? That is what 90 percent of all Americans are asking themselves--Democrat, Republican, liberal, conservative. His actions with Putin have been so confounding and so contrary to American interests that there is virtually no rational explanation for them.

At the same time, the President's rhetoric about the Russia probe should concern all of us. Should he seek to shut down or impede the investigation by firing the Deputy Attorney General or Special Counsel Mueller, interfering with the chain of command, or issuing pardons, we would--make no mistake about it--be in a full-fledged constitutional crisis.

I urge my colleagues, all of my colleagues--Democrat, Republican, Independent--to support the bipartisan legislation in the Judiciary Committee that would protect the special counsel from a political firing. The rule of law is not a partisan issue. It is one of the most serious issues we face because that is what is at the core of being an American. That is why the whole world admires us. That is why so many families like mine have been able to climb the ladder, starting out in poverty as my grandparents did, to a decent life. We cannot let the rule of law become a partisan issue. Let us speak in one loud, clear voice by passing this legislation through the Senate as soon as possible.

Finally, as well, the contradictions, I might add, in the administration are enormous. Nikki Haley must be so embarrassed today. She forthrightly said that we are going to be tough on Russia and do additional sanctions one day, and then the President contradicted her the next. Do they talk to each other? Do they have a set plan? Or is it just up to the President's whim, day by day, moment by moment? When it comes to Russia, it is far too serious to rely on whim, changing attitudes, and maybe an 800-pound gorilla in the room. There is something the President is worried about.

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