2020 Speculation About Kamala Harris Grows After Her Exchange With Comey
- 7 years ago
As former FBI Director James Comey’s Senate testimony continues to attract attention, Democratic Senator Kamala Harris appears to be strengthening her position as a potential top contender for the 2020 presidential race.
Amid scrutiny over former FBI Director James Comey’s testimony to Senate lawmakers on Thursday, Democratic Senator Kamala Harris appears to be strengthening her position as a potential top contender for the 2020 presidential race.
According to Business Insider, “Harris' questions and comments to Comey on Thursday drew both praise and criticism, as she doggedly pursued a series of questions that Comey repeatedly said he couldn't answer in an open session.”
After she was given the floor, she began by thanking him and then notably stating, in part, “You and I are both former prosecutors…I just want to make a statement that in my experience of prosecuting cases when a robber held a gun to somebody's head and said ‘I hope you will give me your wallet,’ the word ‘hope’ was not the operative word at that moment.”
Harris was likely making a pointed reference to a part of a written statement Comey had submitted earlier which indicates that President Trump was referring to the FBI’s investigation into former national security adviser Michael Flynn when he allegedly told Comey, “I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go.”
CNN notes that she also made headlines on Wednesday after she was admonished--by Republican Senators John McCain and Richard Burr, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee--for continuing to ask Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein if he would agree to officially give Special Counsel Robert Mueller autonomy from the Justice Department in investigating Trump associates’ ties with Russia.
Rosenstein ultimately refrained from answering the question with a “yes” or “no,” at one point telling her, “It's not a short answer, senator.”
Her outspokenness--about the Russia investigation, illegal immigration, and members of Trump’s administration--has raised her profile as a potential future presidential candidate, notes the Washington Times.
In fact, her rapid political ascent has been compared to that of former President Obama, with political consultant Robert Salazar quoted by the media outlet as saying, “You saw it with Obama. It is a very rare mixture of passion and professionalism that is hard to come across in politics.”
Despite the buzz, when the Los Angeles Times’ Patt Morrison asked her about running for the nation’s top job a few months ago, Harris deflected the question, saying, “I don’t know why my name is in that context. I’m focused on being the junior senator from California and very proud to be representing our beautiful state.”
Amid scrutiny over former FBI Director James Comey’s testimony to Senate lawmakers on Thursday, Democratic Senator Kamala Harris appears to be strengthening her position as a potential top contender for the 2020 presidential race.
According to Business Insider, “Harris' questions and comments to Comey on Thursday drew both praise and criticism, as she doggedly pursued a series of questions that Comey repeatedly said he couldn't answer in an open session.”
After she was given the floor, she began by thanking him and then notably stating, in part, “You and I are both former prosecutors…I just want to make a statement that in my experience of prosecuting cases when a robber held a gun to somebody's head and said ‘I hope you will give me your wallet,’ the word ‘hope’ was not the operative word at that moment.”
Harris was likely making a pointed reference to a part of a written statement Comey had submitted earlier which indicates that President Trump was referring to the FBI’s investigation into former national security adviser Michael Flynn when he allegedly told Comey, “I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go.”
CNN notes that she also made headlines on Wednesday after she was admonished--by Republican Senators John McCain and Richard Burr, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee--for continuing to ask Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein if he would agree to officially give Special Counsel Robert Mueller autonomy from the Justice Department in investigating Trump associates’ ties with Russia.
Rosenstein ultimately refrained from answering the question with a “yes” or “no,” at one point telling her, “It's not a short answer, senator.”
Her outspokenness--about the Russia investigation, illegal immigration, and members of Trump’s administration--has raised her profile as a potential future presidential candidate, notes the Washington Times.
In fact, her rapid political ascent has been compared to that of former President Obama, with political consultant Robert Salazar quoted by the media outlet as saying, “You saw it with Obama. It is a very rare mixture of passion and professionalism that is hard to come across in politics.”
Despite the buzz, when the Los Angeles Times’ Patt Morrison asked her about running for the nation’s top job a few months ago, Harris deflected the question, saying, “I don’t know why my name is in that context. I’m focused on being the junior senator from California and very proud to be representing our beautiful state.”