Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden says the appointment of a special counsel to investigate Russia鈥檚 role in the 2016 election and the Trump campaign does not get in the way of the Senate quest for answers.
鈥淚鈥檓 working on issues like following the money,鈥� Wyden told All Things Considered host Kate Davidson on Wednesday. 鈥溾�� this topic speaks to people to the legitimacy of their government.鈥�
Wyden, a Democrat, is Oregon鈥檚 senior senator. He sits on the Senate Intelligence Committee, which could hear from former FBI director James Comey, recently fired by President Donald Trump, as soon as next week, according to several news accounts.
"From an hour after he was fired, I said the most important thing was to get him to a public forum to tell the American people what the status of the investigation was at the time he was fired,鈥� Wyden said. 鈥淪ince then, of course, there have been other questions raised. I鈥檓 sure one of the first questions asked at a hearing would be, 鈥楧id the president ask you to make a loyalty pledge?鈥欌��
Wyden also weighed in on a free speech debate that erupted over two rallies planned for Portland in June.
After last week鈥檚 attack on a light rail train, Mayor Ted Wheeler asked the federal government to stop two scheduled right-wing rallies.
Wyden said the debate over the limits of free speech runs through the nation鈥檚 history.
鈥淭he First Amendment cuts both ways, that鈥檚 why it鈥檚 so special,鈥� he said. 鈥淣ow the challenge is going to be for the officials in our community to find ways to deal with this that don鈥檛, in effect, set aside the Constitution.鈥�
At the same time, Wyden called on organizers of the rallies to let common sense and decency prevail while the community is still grieving.
To hear the entire conversation, use the audio player at the top of this story.
Copyright 2017
