John Oliver calls on Congress to take action after Trump’s Comey firing: ‘It’s on you’

HBO

“Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.”

On Sunday’s episode of “Last Week Tonight,” host John Oliver addressed the branch of government that has the power to look into President Donald Trump’s surprise firing of FBI Director James Comey and potentially do something about it: Congress.

Oliver believes what’s important here is not just that Comey confirmed before his firing that there’s an ongoing FBI investigation into possible ties between the Trump campaign and Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election. He also pointed to a tweet from Trump that suggested the president may have recorded his private meetings with Comey. In the vaguely threatening tweet, Trump said Comey “better hope” no “tapes” of their conversations exist.

Oliver described Trump’s words about the “tapes” as “both a borderline obstruction of justice and the meaningless rantings of a confused, old idiot.”

But nothing Trump says (or tweets) surprises anymore, according to Oliver.

“There is really nothing Trump could do to genuinely shock me right now,” Oliver said. “If you said he fired Comey because he’s investigating Russia, I’d believe you. If you said he did it because Comey is 6’8” and Trump feels like a tiny little man standing next to him, I would believe you. If you said he fired Comey, walked into the Oval Office, spread peanut butter on his genitals, brought in 35 squirrels, and yelled, ‘Buckle up, Daddy’s brought dinner,’ I’d say yeah, sure, why not? That sounds like something the President of the United States would do. That’s the world we live in now!”

Oliver then put the pressure on Congress to address Trump’s actions and comments, saying it needs to “pick a lane.” That means, according to the host, backing the investigations into the Trump campaign and Russia or pressing for a special counsel to investigate the matter.

“But at the very, very least here, they need to acknowledge that what has happened is f—ed up and not continue to give non-answers,” Oliver said of Congress.

“The point is,” Oliver continued, “the founding fathers created a system of checks and balances to limit the power of the president, but it only works if someone f—ing checks or balances. And if you don’t, it’s no longer on Trump — it’s on you.”

Watch Oliver’s Comey segment below:

James Comey better hope that there are no “tapes” of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 12, 2017