WASHINGTON — Public trust is on the line and the country deserves answers sooner rather than later, said U.S. Rep. Fred Upton, R-St. Joseph in regards to reports suggesting President Trump urged FBI Director James Comey to halt a probe of former adviser Michael Flynn.
"I fully support the ongoing efforts to get all of the facts surrounding the firing of FBI Director Comey," Upton said in a statement in response to a New York Times report suggesting the president asked his former FBI director to lay off Flynn. Comey was later fired by the president.
"I would urge Comey to publicly testify before Congress on what exactly happened."
The House Oversight Committee has requested"all memoranda, notes, summaries, and recordings referring or relating to any communications between Comey and the President," according to Upton's office.
The deadline for this request is May 24, 2017.
Upton also said he remained open to appointing a special prosecutor—or at least an independent commission —to investigate allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 election. It's a step most rank-and-file Republicans are resisting amid the uproar over the Comey memos.
"We must continue to follow the facts wherever they lead so that we can get to the bottom of this," Upton said.
Previously, Upton called on Attorney General Jeff Sessions to recuse himself in any investigation related to Russian interference.
U.S. Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-Zeeland, also issued a statement to FOX 17 on Wednesday in response to the Comey memos.
In order to fulfill our constitutional duty, Congress must focus on finding the facts. If a Comey memo does indeed exist, the FBI & Justice Department need to turn the document over to Congress. Should that not happen, I support issuing a Congressional Subpoena to obtain the memo. I hope Mr. Comey will accept the invitation to testify on Capitol Hill next week.
Earlier Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Justin Amash, R-Cascade Twp., told reporters if the allegations surrounding the James Comey memos are true, they would be grounds for impeachment of President Trump, making him the first Republican lawmaker to publicly entertain the idea, The Hill reports.
