Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said a report that President Trump is being investigated for obstruction of justice is not surprising “because he fired [former FBI Director James] Comey after Comey refused to pledge loyalty.”
“What we’ve seen over the last few weeks is literally an obstruction of justice case by the President of the United States unfolding in real time right before our eyes,” Blumenthal said Wednesday on MSNBC.
Special counsel Robert Mueller is now investigating Trump for potential obstruction of justice, according to The Washington Post. The probe already had been focused on Russian interference in the presidential election and possible ties between Russia and the Trump campaign.
“Clearly, the special counsel is very interested in what Donald Trump did to try to suppress this investigation, including firing director Comey,” Blumenthal said. “And that could be highly significant because it means that this obstruction of justice case is now front and center.”
Comey said during his testimony to the Senate Intelligence Committee last week that he told Trump repeatedly that he was not under investigation while he was director of the FBI.
Following Comey’s testimony, Trump’s attorney, Marc Kasowitz, shot back that Comey should be investigated for leaking privileged information about his conversations at the White House.
