Supreme Court Hearings: Neil Gorsuch Appointment To High Court Should Be Delayed, DNC Chair Says

Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez said Tuesday the Senate should hold off on the nomination of Appellate Judge Neil Gorsuch for the Supreme Court until after the FBI finishes its investigation into whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russian operatives.

FBI Director James Comey revealed Monday the FBI began investigating Russian meddling in the U.S. presidential election last summer in testimony before the House Intelligence Committee. He refused to say, however, whether any evidence had been uncovered of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russian officials.

Read: President Has 'No Recollection' Of Encounter With Russian Ambassador

As Comey testified, Gorsuch, who was nominated by President Donald Trump Jan. 31, just 11 days after assuming the presidency, was being grilled by the Senate Judiciary Committee in the first of four days of hearings.

“The Senate should hold off on any action on this lifetime appointment until the FBI investigation into Trump’s Russia connections concludes,” Perez tweeted.

He added it is “unacceptable” for the nomination to go forward while the “presidency is under the cloud of an FBI investigation.”

Democrats still are smarting from the treatment Republicans gave Appellate Judge Merrick Garland to the same seat for which Gorsuch is now being considered, refusing to grant Garland a hearing.

Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., noted Garland was the first nominee to be denied a hearing.

The White House has been trying to downplay the significance of Comey’s revelation, with press secretary Sean Spicer telling reporters Monday there’s no proof of ties between the Trump campaign and Russian operatives, and assuring the president stands by earlier statements he had no knowledge of any contacts between associates and Russians, despite the forced resignation of Michael Flynn as national security adviser because he lied to Vice President Mike Pence about contacts with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak.

Read: What The FBI Knows And Is Doing About President's Relationship To Vladimr Putin, Kremlin

“The 17 intelligence agencies have talked about an ongoing investigation into Russia's involvement in the election,” Spicer said. “That's vastly different than jumping to the conclusion and saying that there must be somehow, therefore, a collusion between individuals on one side.”

Trump tweeted Democrats have made up “the Russian story” and the real question is who leaked Flynn’s name.

Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., a member of the House Intelligence Committee said he would like former Trump campaign Chairman Paul Manafort to appear before the panel for questioning related to his work for a pro-Russian political party in Ukraine, Politico reported. Manafort also is being sought for questioning in Kiev about his relationship with ousted President Viktor Yanukovych, who fled to Russia amid riots in 2014.