Sen. Amy Klobuchar: "Stunned" by timing of Comey ouster
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota, says she was blown away Tuesday by the news President Trump had fired FBI Director James Comey.
"I was stunned that they did this… sandwiched in between Sally Yates' testimony which was pretty devastating to the administration, and then he was supposed to testify this week about Russia, among other things," Klobuchar said on the latest episode of the Takeout podcast. "They had the audacity to fire him. It was pretty surprising in the middle of a major, major investigation involving the Trump campaign and Russia."
The Trump administration has spent the week trying to clarify exactly why the president chose to terminate Comey from his post at the FBI and when he decided to do it. The crux of the issue, officials say, is how Comey handled the Hillary Clinton email server investigation during the 2016 presidential campaign.
Facing criticism from both parties at various times, Democrats, including Klobuchar often cite his decision in late October to reopen the investigation as a reason Hillary Clinton lost the presidential election.
"I was very clear this year I didn't agree with what he did on the Hillary Clinton email investigation by any means, but that doesn't mean you fire someone -- and especially not six months later."
Looking ahead to 2020, Klobuchar did not say whether she is planning to run on the Democratic ticket for president, but she did emphasize that a weak area for her party is messaging.
"That Stronger Together slogan? That was a response to Donald Trump, right? It sounds nice and the intentions were so good, but to out-of-work steel workers in northern Minnesota, that was everyone together but me."
On some issues, Klobuchar is willing to work with Republicans -- for instance, on the Senate healthcare bill and getting a new FBI director in place.
"People who go to work every day and put their lives on the line, don't really want to think about the politics - if something's Democrat or Republican - so I think we owe it to that agency and we owe it to law enforcement to do that."
For more from Klobuchar's conversation with CBS News Chief White House Correspondent Major Garrett and CBS News Political Director Steve Chaggaris, listen to "The Takeout" podcast, available on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher and CBSNews.com. And follow "The Takeout" on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter: @TakeoutPodcast.
Producers: Arden Farhi, Nick Fineman, and Katiana Krawchenko
Show email: TakeoutPodcast@cbsnews.com
Twitter: @TakeoutPodcast
Instagram: @TakeoutPodcast
Facebook: Facebook.com/TakeoutPodcast
