“We Must Protect the Integrity of Our Elections” – EMILYs List President Reacts to Comey Firing

May 10, 2017

“We Must Protect the Integrity of Our Elections” – EMILYs List President Reacts to Comey Firing

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Stephanie Schriock released the following statement in reaction to last night’s firing of FBI Director James Comey:

“For Donald Trump to fire his FBI director in the middle of an open investigation into his administration’s potential collusion with the Russian government is a dangerous abuse of power and a transparent attempt to interfere with the FBI’s Russia investigation. Whether James Comey’s dismissal is part of a Nixon-style White House cover up or just more characteristically erratic behavior on the part of the president, Trump must answer calls from our Democratic women in office and allow an independent investigation and a special prosecutor at the Department of Justice to examine the case. The integrity of our elections, which form the foundation of our democracy, must always be vigorously protected.”

“Donald Trump has now fired James Comey, U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, and Acting Attorney General Sally Yates – all of whom were investigating Trump. Elections have consequences, and Americans are seeing those consequences roll out before our very eyes. If we can’t count on Republicans to check this president and put a stop to his radical behavior, our work to send more Democrats to Congress to fight back against this White House’s un-American abuses of power is more critical than ever.”

EMILYs List, the nation’s largest resource for women in politics, has raised over $500 million to support pro-choice Democratic women candidates – making them one of the most successful political organizations ever. Our grassroots community of over five million members helps Democratic women wage competitive campaigns – and win. We recruit and train candidates, support strong campaigns, research the issues that impact women and families, and turn out women voters. Since our founding in 1985, we have trained nearly 10,000 women to run and helped elect 116 women to the House, 23 to the Senate, 12 governors, and over 800 to state and local office. Forty percent of the candidates EMILYs List has helped elect to Congress have been women of color – including every single Latina, African American, and Asian American Democratic congresswoman currently serving.