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U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, on Tuesday called President Donald Trump’s firing of FBI Director James Comey “shocking” and urged the appointment of a special counsel to probe ties between Trump’s campaign and Russia.

“It is deeply troubling that the president has fired the FBI director during an active counterintelligence investigation into improper contacts between the Trump campaign and Russia,” Warner, D-Va., said in a statement.

Warner said the appointment of a special counsel is “the only way the American people will be able to trust the results” of any investigation by the Justice Department.

Comey was scheduled to appear Thursday in a closed session of the Senate Intelligence Committee. Warner told CNN Tuesday night that he still wants Comey to appear.

U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., the 2016 Democratic nominee for vice president, criticized the president’s move Tuesday in a series of tweets, saying in one that: “Trump firing Comey shows how frightened the Admin is over Russia investigation.”