Democrats call for Mueller’s Russia probe to continue without obstruction

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Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer speaks with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi at a news conference about the Child Care for Working Families Act at the U.S. Capitol September 14, 2017 in Washington, DC.

News of the charges against President Donald Trump‘s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and two others emboldened Democrats to call for greater protection to special counsel Robert Mueller‘s investigation.

While many stopped short of tying Manfort’s charges directly to Trump, top Democrats reacted to the developments Monday with concern that the president could impede the investigation or perhaps pardon himself and any of his associates in potential legal jeopardy.

“It is imperative that Congress take action now to protect the independence of the Special Counsel, wherever or however high his investigation may lead,” Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia said in a statement Monday. “Members of Congress, Republican and Democrat, must also make clear to the President that issuing pardons to any of his associates or to himself would be unacceptable, and result in immediate, bipartisan action by Congress.”

Warner is the vice chairman of the Senate’s Intelligence Committee, which is conducting its own probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 election, including potential collusion between Trump’s campaign and the Russian government.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said that Mueller’s probe is essential for U.S. efforts to counteract Russian attempts to interfere with elections.

“Even with an accelerating Special Counsel investigation inside the Justice Department, and investigations inside the Republican Congress, we still need an outside, fully independent investigation to expose Russia’s meddling in our election and the involvement of Trump officials,” the former House speaker said. “Defending the integrity of our democracy demands that Congress look forward to counter Russian aggression and prevent future meddling with our elections.”

New York’s Chuck Schumer, the leading Democrat in the Senate, said “the investigation must proceed unimpeded.”

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California Rep. Adam Schiff, the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, which is also investigating potential Kremlin election meddling, trumpeted the indictments’ importance.

“This is a key development. This is no small fish,” the lawmaker told NPR.