Texas lawmakers react to testimony from former FBI Director James Comey
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Among the members of the Senate Intelligence Committee questioning former FBI Director James Comey on Thursday was Texas senior Senator John Cornyn.
"If you're trying to make an investigation go away, is firing an FBI director a good way to make that happen?" asked Senator Cornyn, in reference to President Donald Trump and the investigation into possible collusion between his successful 2016 presidential campaign and the Russian government.
"It doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me, but I'm obviously hopelessly biased given that I was the one fired," replied Comey.
Senator Cornyn exchanged questions and answers for close to seven minutes.
"If an FBI agent has reason to believe a crime has been committed, do they have a duty to report it?" asked Cornyn.
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"That's a good question," Comey replied. "I don't know that there is a legal duty to report it. We certainly have a cultural, ethical duty to report it."
After the hearing, Cornyn's team said the senator's exchange speaks for itself.
Eyewitness News also reached out Senator Ted Cruz and seven other members of congress to get their takes. No Republicans were available late Thursday or issued statements about the testimony. But Democrat Congressman Gene Green did speak with Eyewitness News from Washington via Skype.
He said testimony only confirmed the need for further investigating.
"We have the House committee investigating," said Representative Green, who called the issue a distraction from the real work of the Congress. "We have the Senate committee investigating, the FBI is looking into the effort of the Russian influence on our elections."
Representaive Al Green, of Texas' 9th district, and a Democrat who has called for an impeachment of President Trump said the testimony reaffirmed his concerns about the president's alleged attempt to obstruct justice.
"This is not about Democrats," said Green during a telephone interview. "This is about democracy. It's about government of the people, by the people, for the people. It's not about the Republicans. It's about the republic."
Representative Sheila Jackson Lee was in the audience during the testimony. She spoke with Eyewitness News upon landing back in Houston late Thursday.
"I think we got a lot of information." she said. "He (Comey) was able to finish his answers and I think he felt comfortable in his answers. I sensed from him that he was able to tell his story."
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