WASHINGTON – During today’s Senate Judiciary Committee markup of a Republican resolution to authorize Chairman Graham to subpoena 53 named individuals for testimony regarding the Mueller investigation and FBI’s Crossfire Hurricane investigation, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) offered amendments authorizing and directing that subpoenas be issued to six other individuals with highly relevant knowledge about the contacts in 2016 between the Trump Campaign and Russia that were the predicate for the investigations: Michael Cohen, Rick Gates, George Papadopoulos, Michael Flynn, Jerome Corsi, and Roger Stone. Also, Durbin offered a sense of the Committee amendment supporting the right to peaceably assemble and condemning Attorney General William Barr for his actions on June 1 forcing peaceful protestors out of Lafayette Square. Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans voted down each of Durbin’s amendments on party line votes.
“If this is on the up and up, if this is legit, then you bring in witnesses who are relevant. You decide whether their testimony is credible. You put it into the record so we have a complete record. For those who agree or disagree with the investigation, you give each of them an opportunity to come forward and produce evidence that’s relevant to the investigation. To say that the investigation of Crossfire Hurricane is really the center of this, and then ignore every predicate that led up to this investigation, frankly calls into question whether this is a credible exercise,” Durbin said.
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Durbin also gave remarks on his amendment supporting the right to peaceably assemble and condemning Attorney General William Barr for his actions on June 1 forcing peaceful protestors out of Lafayette Square.
“According to press reports, the assault began with law enforcement kneeling—not to express solidarity with the anti-racism efforts, as we have seen with some police officers around the country. They were kneeling to put on gas masks to protect themselves from the weapons they were about to fire at peaceful demonstrators,” Durbin said. “At this critical moment in our nation’s history, one would expect the United States Senate Judiciary Committee to consider this measure, to stand up, and to speak up…to examine why lawful protestors engaging in their First Amendment rights were attacked by federal law enforcement officers. To discuss pervasive, systemic racism, the incidents of police brutality, and the ongoing fight in this country for civil rights.”
Video of Durbin’s remarks in Committee is available here.
Audio of Durbin’s remarks in Committee is available here.
Footage of Durbin’s remarks in Committee is available here for TV Stations.
