New York, NY. -- Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), senior member of the House Judiciary Committee and former Chair and Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, released the following statement in response to President Trump’s firing of FBI Director James Comey:

“The firing of FBI Director Comey by President Trump is a terrifying signal of this Administration’s continued abuse of power on so many levels.  The FBI Director was fired for one reason and one reason only – he appears to have been conducting a serious investigation into the Trump campaign’s connection with the Russians. Period. It is clear that the reasons given today for the firing of Director Comey are pretext, they are excuses, they are not true, they are lies. All other justifications offered by this Administration are a smokescreen.

“Attorney General Sessions lied about his connections to Russia and was forced to recused himself from the investigation. Former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn lied to the Vice President about his connections to Russian agents and was fired. Representative Nunes, Chairman of the House Select Intelligence Committee, concealed evidence from his colleagues after improper communications with the White House. Jared Kushner failed to disclose his meetings with Russian officials on his security clearance forms.  Former Campaign Manager Paul Manafort resigned his position amid allegations of connections to Russian officials.  Former Trump foreign affairs advisor Carter Paige had unexplained contacts with the Russian government. And when former Acting Attorney General Sally Yates tried to warn the Administration about these conflicts, she was fired.  The Trump Administration fired U.S. Attorney for the Southern District Preet Bharara, who had jurisdiction to investigate these troubling connections.  Now, the President fires Director Comey who has been heading investigation into these matters for months.  And to add terrible insult to injury, the ‘justification’ for the firing was handled by the ostensibly recused Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

“The message to all federal investigators is crystal clear: if you ask too many questions, if you seek to put these pieces together, if you seek justice, if you seek the truth, you too may be fired. And anyone who this President now appoints will have zero credibility to carry out an honest investigation. As such, we are now careening towards a constitutional crisis in our country with the Administration systematically attacking all of the institutions that are meant to put a check on the power of the President.

"A fair, thorough, and comprehensive investigation is necessary to protect democratic government in the United States. The President's firing of Director Comey ranks with Nixon's firing of Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox in October 1973. As such, the only path forward is the appointment of a special prosecutor and an independent 911-style investigative panel.”