WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) is critical of President Donald Trump's decision to fire FBI Director James Comey. "Donald Trump’s decision to fire him now, in the midst of an investigation into Trump associates and their ties to Russia, is simply outrageous," says the Oregon Democrat.

Wyden is calling for an independent Counsel to take over the investigation into Russia and associates of the President, and he wants Comey to return to the Senate to explain what happened. "Director Comey should be immediately called to testify in an open hearing about the status of the investigation into Russia and Trump associates at the time he was fired." He says Trunp's chain of command can't be trusted to carry out an impartial investigation.
 

Fellow Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) released a statement late Tuesday, saying, “Trump’s explanation for firing Comey is as phony as a three-dollar bill. Trump’s pattern of firing people who are investigating him is downright Nixonian, and Members of Congress of both parties should treat it with the same gravity that our predecessors did during Watergate.”