Minnesota lawmakers reflect on Comey firing

(KMSP) - With Jim Comey out as FBI Director, most of Minnesota’s leaders in Washington support a special prosecutor to take over the investigation into Russia’s involvement in the election.

In an interview with Fox 9, Sen. Al Franken said the firing “may be the most serious transgression thus far by President Trump.” He added, “this is a crisis of great proportions. This is a foreign power trying to undermine our democracy.”

Sen. Amy Klobuchar also spoke to Fox 9. “I was a friend of Jim Comey in law school, a classmate of his. And while I didn’t agree with him on how we handled the Hillary Clinton investigation, he was respected by the agents that worked with him, respected by law enforcement in Minnesota.”

Both Senators Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken support a special prosecutor. Also in support are Representatives Keith Ellison, Rick Nolan, Tim Walz, Betty McCollum and Erik Paulsen.

Paulsen is the first republican member of Congress from Minnesota to call for an independent investigator, releasing a statement saying, “these circumstances call for an independent investigation that the American people can trust with confidence.”

Reps. Tom Emmer and Jason Lewis, both Republicans, have yet to state their positions on any special prosecutor. Neither has Rep. Collin Peterson, a democrat.