Schumer: McConnell’s ‘case closed’ speech ‘a disgrace’
Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) unleashed on Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Tuesday after the GOP leader proclaimed that it was “case closed” on the Russia probe.
“He should be ashamed of himself with that speech. … What a disgrace,” Schumer told reporters during a weekly press conference.
Schumer added that McConnell is getting “huge blowback” and advised the GOP leader that “when you’re in a hole, don’t dig deeper. But that’s what McConnell’s speech did today.”{mosads}
Schumer’s comments came after McConnell gave his most extensive speech to date on special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russia’s election meddling and the Trump campaign.
The GOP leader declared the investigation was “case closed,” characterized Democrats as “grieving” over Mueller’s findings and urged them to “come back to reality.”
McConnell also blasted the Obama administration in his speech, arguing that its Russia policy helped Moscow feel “emboldened” to meddle in the 2016 election, and touted the Trump administration’s actions to combat election interference.
“What a joke. The Trump aspects of not telling the truth on anything have seeped deep into the Senate,” Schumer responded.
The Democratic leader asserted that McConnell was “afraid” of the findings in Mueller’s report and was refusing to move election security legislation, characterizing the stalemate as “disgraceful.”
“If McConnell believes the Mueller report is sufficient, then why isn’t he putting election security, stuff to stop the Russians, on the Senate floor?” Schumer asked. “Where is Senator McConnell?”
He added that Russians “want us to lose faith in democracy” and said McConnell’s actions could be helping them.
“Mitch McConnell is aiding and abetting it by refusing to do anything,” he said. “It may be that Trump wants the Russians to participate and he’s telling McConnell, ‘Do nothing.'”
Schumer’s comments come as Democrats have hounded McConnell over his floor speech.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who is running for the party’s 2020 presidential nomination, reiterated her call for the House to begin impeachment proceedings against Trump during her own Senate floor speech on Tuesday, in which she read part of Mueller’s report into the congressional record.
“I believe that we should have hearings. We should thoroughly investigate the Mueller report … and then we can make a decision,” Schumer said when asked about impeachment.
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