New York Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, both Democrats, released strong statements May 9 denouncing President Trump for firing FBI Director James Comey, and saying an independent prosecutor now must investigate the ties between Trump and Russia. A day later Rep. John Faso (R-Kinderhook) released a statement with less definition: "The firing of FBI Director James Comey is at the same time unsurprising and shocking. It is unsurprising in that his actions relating to the Clinton email matter caused major controversy on both sides of the political aisle. He appeared to assume a decision making position which would have been better left to his Justice Department superiors. His statements the other day before a congressional committee regarding Huma Abedin’s emails were perhaps the final misstep he has made in this regard. However, the firing was shocking in that the FBI has an ongoing investigation into Russian efforts to influence the US elections last year. The public must have absolute confidence that the FBI investigation will be thorough, and result in a complete resolution of that question regardless of the outcome. The facts must be known. Therefore it is incumbent upon the administration to nominate a new FBI director who will be someone of unquestioned integrity and experience, acceptable to both Republicans and Democrats in the Senate, to lead this critical agency on the Russian investigation and all other matters coming before it. If the nominee does not pass that test, then the only alternative in my view would be the selection of an independent investigator to get to the bottom of this matter once and for all."