Dem senator: GOP lawmakers attacking FBI, DOJ ‘destabilizing’ rule of law

Sen. Christopher Coons (D-Del.) on Tuesday slammed House Republicans who have joined in President Trump’s attacks on the Justice Department and FBI, accusing them of “destabilizing” the rule of law.

“I’m concerned that a number of House Republicans are making increasingly baseless attacks on the Department of Justice and the FBI, and that this is not just demoralizing to federal law enforcement but destabilizing to the rule of law to have folks in office trying to assist the president in his ongoing effort to undermine this investigation,” Coons said on CNN. 

Coons is a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is one of the panels investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election.

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Some congressional Republicans have grown increasingly critical of the FBI and Justice Department, particularly regarding the ongoing special counsel investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election. 

Trump has repeatedly denied any collusion between his campaign and Moscow, and has called the probe a politically motivated “witch hunt.” 

In a tweet Tuesday morning, Trump accused the Justice Department of being controlled by the so-called deep state, and said that the agency must take action against a former aide to Hillary Clinton, Huma Abedin, former FBI Director James Comey and “others.”

The tweet was Trump’s latest attack on the Justice Department. Last month, the president said that the FBI’s reputation was in “tatters” and that it had lost the confidence of the public.