Following the abrupt firing of FBI Director James Comey, Rep. Rick Larsen (WA-02), a senior Member of the House Armed Services Committee, is reiterating his call for an independent commission to investigate ties between the Russian government and President Trump.

“A bipartisan, independent commission is needed more today than when I first called for it in February,” said Larsen. “President Trump’s stunning decision to terminate FBI Director James Comey – who was in charge of investigating possible contact and collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian government – has dispelled any shred of doubt about the urgent need for an independent commission.”

Larsen has cosponsored the bipartisan Protecting Our Democracy Act which would create an independent commission to investigate the full extent of Russian actions to influence the 2016 US elections. Additionally, Larsen has cosponsored H.Res.111, a Resolution of Inquiry directing the Department of Justice to provide the House of Representatives with all information related to President Trump and his associates’ financial conflicts of interest, ethics violations, and violations of the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution, which prohibits elected officials from receiving payments from foreign governments.

Following the resignation of National Security Advisor Michael Flynn earlier this year, Larsen said “the American people need to know more information about what President Trump knew and when he knew it.” In February, Larsen sent a letter to FBI Director James Comey, in which he wrote: “Flynn’s resignation…raises important questions about the extent of collaboration between the Trump campaign and the Russian government…To give peace of mind to the American people, I request that the investigation be prompt and thorough in resolving whether Flynn’s conversations with Kislyak were known to or authorized by persons in the Trump campaign. In addition, I ask you to include in the investigation a full assessment of the scope of contact between the Trump campaign and the Russian government.”

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