WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. House Assistant Democratic Leader James E. Clyburn released the following statement on the signing of an executive order establishing a Presidential Advisory Commission on ‘Election Integrity’ and Russian meddling:
Clyburn statement:
“President Trump’s ‘Election Integrity’ Commission is an obvious attempt to stop the freefall his Administration is in as a result of his firing of FBI Director Comey and the ongoing investigation into his Administration’s ties to Russia. It is worth noting that nothing in the executive order will address the very real influence that Russia had on our election.
“While I was troubled by Director Comey’s handling of the investigation into Secretary Clinton’s email server last year, I respect the need for law enforcement to be independent from political influence. Whether true or not, President Trump, Attorney General Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein have created the dangerous appearance that they are trying to stifle the investigation. To remove all appearances of impropriety, Congress should swiftly pass legislation creating an independent commission to fully investigate Russia’s intervention in our electoral process. The American people deserve the truth, and they deserve to have confidence in the independence of the officials charged with finding it.
“Moreover, it is sad that President Trump is so obsessed with his own popularity that he’s willing to ignore facts, waste valuable resources and shake public confidence in our democracy in order to stroke his own ego. More than a dozen recent nonpartisan investigations have found no evidence of widespread voter fraud, making this so-called ‘commission’ totally unnecessary. With one of the architects of voter suppression, Kris Kobach, as Vice Chair, President Trump’s ‘commission’ lacks all credibility. Republicans have used the myth of voter fraud to restrict voting rights for a very long time. At a time when our democracy is fragile and under constant threat, I will fight any attempt to nationalize voting rights discrimination.”