Rand Paul: Dems ‘should be thanking’ Trump for firing Comey

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said Wednesday that Democrats “should be thanking” President Trump for firing FBI Director James Comey.

During an appearance on “Fox & Friends,” Paul said “there’s a lot of hypocrisy” coming from Democrats who are outraged by Trump dismissing the FBI chief.

“Many of these Democrats, including [Sen.] Chuck Schumer [N.Y.], said they lost confidence in Comey a long time ago,” Paul told the hosts, invoking the Senate Democratic leader.

“Hillary Clinton’s been blaming Comey. They should be thanking President Trump for getting rid of Comey because he politicized something that may well have had something to do with Hillary Clinton’s loss,” Paul said, referring to the former Democratic presidential nominee.

{mosads}Paul, who was the only senator to vote against Comey during his 2013 confirmation hearing, asserted Wednesday that there is “no evidence” linking Trump’s campaign to Russia during last year’s presidential election.

“Not only is there no evidence that the Trump administration or campaign was connected to Russia or committed any crime, no evidence at all of committing a crime, there’s not even an accusation that I know of of what crime would have potentially been committed,” he said.

Democrats previously questioned Comey’s ability to lead the bureau after he sent a letter to lawmakers days before the November election that said the FBI discovered new emails potentially relevant to the probe into Clinton’s use of a private email server while serving as secretary of State. Democrats, including Clinton, have cited the letter as one of the reasons for her loss to Trump.

But calls for his resignation quieted following the election, with Democrats wary of who might replace him.

Many lawmakers from both parties have questioned the timing of Comey’s firing on Tuesday, which sent shockwaves across Washington. Trump said it was “essential that we find new leadership for the FBI that restores public trust and confidence in its vital law enforcement mission.”

Democrats accused Trump of firing Comey in an attempt to tamp down on the FBI’s investigation into potential ties between the Trump campaign and Russia during the presidential election.

Republican and Democratic lawmakers have called for an independent commission or a special prosecutor on the Russia probe in the wake of Comey’s firing.