So far, members of Kentucky’s congressional delegation appear to be toeing the party line on President Donald Trump’s firing of FBI Director James Comey.
Sens. Rand Paul and Mitch McConnell took to the airwaves and the Senate floor Wednesday to defend the termination, with both leveling charges of hypocrisy at Democrats who had harsh words for Comey during the presidential campaign. Paul appeared on Fox Business, arguing both sides should back Trump’s decision.
"I think you have a lot of people looking at it from the Democrat side who have said they have lost confidence in him. I think you have Republicans saying he should have prosecuted [Hillary] Clinton," Paul said. "Nobody's happy with his tenure at the FBI, so I think it was long past time for him to go."
Meanwhile, McConnell was dismissing calls to appoint an independent prosecutor to look into possible ties between the Trump campaign and Russia.
In remarks on the chamber floor, the Republican leader said a new investigation would "only serve to impede the current work being done to now only discover what the Russians may have done [but] also to let this body and the national security community develop counter-measures and war-fighting doctrines to see that it doesn't occur again."
Louisville Democratic Rep. John Yarmuth tweeted that the firing is yet another reminder of the “absolutely dire need” for a special prosecutor.
WUKY reached out to Sixth District Congressman Andy Barr’s office but was unable to obtain a statement.
Update (5:30 PM): Congressman Barr has issued this statement to WUKY: "The FBI Director serves at the pleasure of the President, and it is his prerogative to dismiss the director. There are legitimate questions which I'm certain the Administration will address concerning why the President chose to dismiss Director Comey when he did. It is important that the Administration answer these questions fully and appoint a new director to ensure the integrity of the FBI."
