Booker Statement on Judiciary Committee Passage of Bipartisan Special Counsel Independence and Integrity Act

WASHINGTON, DC — Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) issued the following statement after the Senate Judiciary Committee voted 14-7 to approve the Special Counsel Independence and Integrity Act (SCIIA) in a bipartisan vote. Booker is a lead sponsor of the bill, along with Sens. Lindsay Graham (R-SC), Chris Coons (D-DE), and Thom Tillis (R-NC):

“Today’s vote sends an unmistakable bipartisan message that the President must not interfere with the special counsel’s investigation.

“Our proposal — which has attracted even more bipartisan support today — will place a common-sense check on Executive authority and enable this special counsel and future special counsels to follow the facts wherever they may lead.

“This bill’s bipartisan passage through the Judiciary Committee marks an important milestone and brings us to the next step in this process. I hope that Senator McConnell will listen to the growing crescendo of voices on both sides of the aisle calling for this legislation and bring it to the floor for a vote as quickly as possible.  It is our responsibility as good stewards of this republic to pass this bill. In this moment, we must set aside political tribalism and put our country and its institutions first.”

In August of 2017, Sens. Booker and Graham introduced the Special Counsel Independence Protection Act, S. 1735, and Sens. Tillis and Coons introduced the Special Counsel Integrity Act, S. 1741, precursors to SCIIA. Earlier this month, all four senators announced the merger of these parallel efforts into one unified bipartisan bill, the Special Counsel Independence and Integrity Act.