U.S. Congressman James Comer of Kentucky said the investigation into the Trump administration’s ties to Russia has been a “big national distraction.”
The investigation headed by special prosecutor Robert Mueller led to the indictment of former Trump campaign manager PaulManaforton Monday. Manafort was charged with tax fraud and money laundering.
Comer said he supports the legal process but special investigations always go beyond the original intent. “Nothing good ever comes out of special investigations,” Comer said. “Usually there’s not as much fire as there was smoke and the special investigator becomes overzealous. They have unlimited power to investigate anything they want.”
Comer said he believes the investigation has been a “big waste of resources.” He said special investigations, in general, are a long process and cost a lot of money.
“Having legal fees takes a lot of attention away from an administration,” Comer said.
Comer said he understands Trump’s frustrations with the probe but the president should let the process play out. He said Congress would be in “uncharted territory” if Trump were to fire Mueller.
“If that scenario happened then we would have to sit down and do a lot of research with respect to the law to see what happens,” Comer said. “But I’m under the hope that this investigation is nearing the end.”
Comer said he is confident that Trump is going to “come out just fine” in the investigation. He said he believes the investigation will wrap up within the next couple of weeks so Congress can move on and focus on reforming the federal tax code.
