Congresswoman Johnson on Comey testimony

U.S. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson — the Dallas Democrat who has long been one of the LGBT community’s strongest allies, both when she was in the Texas Legislature and now in Congress — has released a statement regarding testimony delivered yesterday on Capitol Hill by former FBI Director James Comey.
Here’s what EBJ had to say:

“Hearing the live testimony by former FBI Director James Comey leaves us with more questions than answers. However, one point is clear — we can no longer excuse the president’s behavior and complete disregard for maintaining a sense of propriety and lawfulness in his actions as a public official. The fact that Mr. Comey had to take deliberate steps to protect himself due to the lack of trust and apparent conflicts of interest among cabinet officials in the White House is deeply disturbing. It is quite unfortunate that President Trump has chosen to undermine the credibility of the federal government in this way and detract from the more meaningful discussions we should be having about issues facing our nation.

“Mr. Comey’s need to testify before Congress [Thursday] highlights the dire consequences of delaying a fully independent commission from investigating the Trump-Russia connection and the possibility of collusion during the 2016 campaign between President Trump, his associates, and Russian operatives. After [Thursday’s] hearing, it appears that Mr. Comey was fired for his unwillingness to yield to President Trump’s demands to subvert such an investigation. That is wrong.

“When the president of the United States chooses to influence an ongoing investigation being conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, it can create the appearance of a conflict of interest. This can undermine the American people’s trust in our government, our rule of law and the elected officials who serve them. If a sitting president chooses to fire the law enforcement officials investigating allegations of wrongdoing committed by the administration, it sets a dangerous precedent if no repercussions follow such actions. This is where Congress must play a bigger role.

“Mr. Comey recalled in his testimony that President Trump demanded and expected loyalty. The American people demand the same of our president, and they expect loyalty to our country — not to foreign adversaries.”