Washington (June 7, 2017) – Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) released the following statement after a statement for the record by former Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) James Comey was made publicly available before his testimony to the Senate Intelligence Committee.

“Mr. Comey’s statement describes behavior by Donald Trump that was at best inappropriate, and at worst illegal. Mr. Trump, on numerous occasions, sought fealty from the FBI Director, attempted to interfere with an historic federal investigation, and then fired Mr. Comey after both requests were spurned. By repeatedly and improperly asking Mr. Comey to ‘lift the cloud’ that was darkening his administration, asking him to ‘let it go’ in reference to the investigation into former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, and then summarily firing the FBI Director, Donald Trump appears to have obstructed justice. Mr. Comey’s testimony details a pattern of disturbing behavior and a disdain for the rule of law by Mr. Trump.

“Mr. Comey’s testimony is yet another piece in the emerging puzzle of evidence that I hope will be thoroughly investigated by Special Counsel Robert Mueller. Mr. Comey’s memos must be made available to Congressional investigators immediately, as they could be today’s version of the Watergate tapes. I hope Mr. Comey is candid and answers questions completely and directly during his testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee.

“I urge my Senate colleagues – both Democrats and Republicans – to focus on one thing and one thing only during the hearing – getting to the truth. We must not lose sight of the fact that Russia interfered in our last presidential election and that the Trump campaign may have colluded with it to win the White House. This strikes at the heart of our government and our very democracy.”