Demos Statement on the Firing of F.B.I. Director James Comey

May 10, 2017 (New York, NY) – Following yesterday's announcement that President Trump fired the director of the F.B.I., James B. Comey, Heather McGhee, President of the New York-based public policy think tank Demos, issued the following statement:

“Throughout our history American democracy has faced moments of peril—and this is one of those times.  A sitting president has fired the director of the F.B.I. while the agency is investigating his campaign’s possible collusion with a foreign power.  This represents a dangerous creep towards authoritarianism—exactly the concern that many voiced when Trump took office.  The security of our Republic depends upon what happens now; business simply cannot proceed 'as usual' in Washington.  Everything must stop until our elected and appointed leaders take urgently-needed steps to safeguard our democracy.  The Deputy Attorney General must immediately appoint a special counsel, and Congress must act to appoint and fund an independent commission.”