Sen. Coons re Donald Trump Jr. emails: “It’s important that we take a deep breath, continue our investigations, make sure we get the facts straight, and understand this in the broader legal context.”

Sen. Coons on Christopher Wray: “At a time when the most recent FBI director was abruptly fired and the Judiciary Committee is beginning an obstruction of justice investigation over how and why the past FBI director was fired, we're going to have some critical questions for Chris Wray.”

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, joined CNN New Day to discuss Donald Trump Jr.’s meeting with a Russian attorney and the upcoming hearing for FBI Director nominee, Christopher Wray.

“I think it's important that we all take a deep breath, continue our investigations, make sure we get the facts straight, and understand this in the broader legal context. This is a striking development in that Donald Trump Jr. received e-mails in which he was proffered, he was told he might receive directly from a Russian government attorney, that's what the e-mail said, information from a hostile power, Russia, that was seeking to help his father win the presidential election, about his father's campaign opponent,” said Senator Coons. “Just on the face of it, that forces aside all the things that have been said by Trump campaign officials and the White House that there was no interaction with Russians, it was inappropriate, there was no attempt at collusion, this lays all that bare because his enthusiasm for the meeting and his lack of surprise to get an e-mail that saying that the Russian government was trying to help his dad win the election, are both pretty striking.”

Full audio and video are available here.

Excerpts from the interview:

Senator Coons on Donald Trump Jr.’s meeting: I think it's important that we all take a deep breath, continue our investigations, make sure we get the facts straight, and understand this in the broader legal context. This is a striking development in that Donald Trump Jr. received e-mails in which he was proffered, was told he might receive directly from a Russian government attorney, that's what the e-mail said, information from a hostile power, Russia, that was seeking to help his father win the presidential election, about his father's campaign opponent. Just on the face of it, that forces aside all the things that have been said by Trump campaign officials and the White House that there was no interaction with Russians, it was inappropriate, there was no attempt at collusion, this lays all that bare because his enthusiasm for the meeting and his lack of surprise to get an e-mail that saying that the Russian government was trying to help his dad win the election, are both pretty striking. What needs to happen next is Bob Mueller who is conducting an independent investigation should pursue these leads appropriately. Then as much as we can, without causing any interference with Bob Mueller's investigation, both Senate Judiciary and Senate Intelligence Committees who have good bipartisan ongoing investigations should get to the bottom of this as quickly as we can. 

 Senator Coons on whether Tim Kaine went too far: Tim Kaine is absolutely right that what Donald Trump Jr. should have done is hand this over to law enforcement. He tries to throw this off, Donald Trump Jr., as just opposition research, as the sort of thing that is routine in a campaign. Anybody who comes with damaging information about your opponent, you meet with them. But this is of a different kind. 

 Senator Coons on whether this is treason:An e-mail that says a hostile power wants to share information is exactly the sort of thing that should have been turned over to the FBI. Colluding with a foreign power, partnering with Russia to try and influence our presidential election certainly raises questions, not just about whether this was ethical -- it clearly wasn't -- but whether or not it breaks those constitutional boundaries that prevent American citizens from helping a hostile power. I'm not there yet, but I think that's exactly why we need to have an investigation to more thoroughly understand the details of what happened and why. I don't disagree with Tim Kaine that that's one of the questions on all of our minds, but as a lawyer, I'm going to be careful about saying that I clearly see the elements of that charge. 

 Senator Coons on whether Donald Trump Jr. should testify:Yes, he should provide sworn testimony both to the ongoing investigation led by Bob Mueller and to the two Senate committees. Again, I do think it's important we keep coordinating between those investigations to make sure that we don't repeat the mistake that happened in Iran-Contra where the two investigations get crosswise with each other. 

Senator Coons on whether he has reached out to Donald Trump Jr.: That’s not my role, that’s something that the Chairman of the Committee Chuck Grassley and Ranking Member Dianne Feinstein I believe will do, if they haven't already done it, I expect they'll do it imminently. They've already sent out letters asking that e-mails and other relevant materials be frozen, that nothing be destroyed. It's my expectation that will move forward quickly. 

 Senator Coons on Christopher Wray: The FBI director is one of the most important federal law enforcement positions and this would be an important confirmation hearing in any context. But, at a time when the most recent FBI director was abruptly fired and the Judiciary Committee is beginning an obstruction of justice investigation over how and why the past FBI director was fired, we're going to have some critical questions for Chris Wray. I intend to ask him first whether he believes the intelligence community's assessment that Russia interfered inappropriately with our last election and intends to continue doing so -- I'll remind you the FBI has a critical counterintelligence role. I'll ask him whether he can be counted on to be independent of President Trump. And, let’s be clear, given recent allegations by former FBI Director Comey, he's going to have to be willing and able to stand up to an overreaching president. Last, I'm concerned that Attorney General Jeff Sessions isn't honoring his promise of recusal. His commitment to step aside from ongoing investigations related to the last election. So those are the three of the things I'm going to focus on today. 

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