Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey

FILE - In this Tuesday, July 19, 2016, file photo, Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey, right, joined by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, speaks during a news conference, in New York. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)

(Mark Lennihan)

Days after President Donald Trump fired FBI Director James Comey in a reported fit of pique, 20 attorneys general, including Massachusetts' Maura Healey, are urging the US Department of Justice to appoint an independent special counsel to plumb for ties between the Trump campaign and Russian officials who attempted to interfere with the 2016 presidential election.

"The administration's firing of FBI Director James Comey is a transparent attempt to obscure the truth and a violation of the public trust," Healey said in a statement.

"As state attorneys general, the chief law enforcement officers of our respective states, we urge the Justice Department to make this appointment immediately," she added.

The 20 attorneys general sent a two-paragraph letter calling for the special counsel to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.

"As prosecutors committed to the rule of law, we urge you to consider the damage to our democratic system of any attempts by the administration to derail and delegitimize the investigation," they wrote.

"The residents of our states and the American people deserve a thorough investigation that makes clear the extent of Russian meddling, any collusion by Trump campaign officials, and any cover-up," they added."

The other attorneys general who signed the letter are from Connecticut, Maine, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, California, Hawaii, Iowa, Illinois, Maryland, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Virginia and Washington.

The letter is available below.

AG Multistate Letter to Deputy Ag Rosenstein 5-11-17 by Gintautas Dumcius on Scribd