Maine U.S. Sen. Susan Collins said Wednesday that it may be time for the Justice Department to look at the possibility of appointing an independent counsel to investigate questions surrounding President Trump's dealings with former FBI chief James Comey.
But Collins, a Republican, told NPR's Morning Edition, "we may have it backwards. Perhaps it would be more effective if the congressional hearings and investigation were completed. Because that would be a far broader inquiry and more evidence will come out."
Meanwhile, Maine independent Sen. Angus King told CNN Tuesday that if it turns out President Trump did try to obstruct justice in the Michael Flynn affair, that would bring Congress close to launching an impeachment process.
But King told Maine reporters later Tuesday that Congress needs more facts, and needs to hear from former FBI director James Comey directly.
"He may shed some light on the context and, in fact, could say the comments in the memo that have been quoted this afternoon are taken out of context, I don't know," King said. "So, before we start talking about obstruction of justice, we need to get to the underlying facts."
King says his "impression," is that Comey does plan to testify, in public, before a congressional committee soon.
