Rep. Justin Amash said his office is looking into legislation that would create an independent commission to review Russia’s role in the 2016 election, including allegations that President Trump’s campaign colluded with the Russian government.
“My staff and I are reviewing legislation to establish an independent commission on Russia,” the Michigan Republican tweeted Tuesday evening. “The second paragraph of this letter is bizarre,” Amash added, referring to Trump’s statement on Comey’s firing. That paragraph said Trump appreciated Comey’s finding that he was not under investigation, but said nonetheless that Comey was “not able” to lead the department.
Amash’s announcement came shortly after Trump unexpectedly fired FBI Director James Comey, following the Justice Department’s conclusion that he mishandled the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s emails last year. Comey had led the investigation into Trump and Russia, as well as another into Hillary Clinton’s illegal email activity through a private server.
In a memo explaining to Trump why he thought Comey should be fired, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who was sworn into office in late April, pointed to the FBI director’s July press conference explaining why Democratic presidential candidate Clinton should not be prosecuted over her use of a private email server while secretary of state.
Comey’s involvement in the 2016 general election didn’t end there. On Oct. 28, just days before voters went to the polls, Comey sent a letter to Congress saying new emails had surfaced related to the investigation into whether Clinton had mishandled classified information.
Days later, Comey said they had found no new wrongdoing by Clinton, but the candidate’s staff have argued the Oct. 28 letter significantly hurt her campaign.
