Lindsey Graham by U.S. Customs and Border Protection / Flickr
Senators Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and John Cornyn, R-Texas, are urging the Department of Justice (DOJ) to appoint a special counsel to investigate allegations that the Obama administration weaponized US intelligence agencies to fabricate the Trump-Russia collusion narrative after President Donald Trump’s 2016 election victory.
“Appointing an independent special counsel would do the country a tremendous service in this case,” the senators said in a joint statement first reported by FOX News July 24.
In a July 24 X post, Cornyn accused the Obama administration of fabricating “the entire Russia collusion hoax… to subvert the will of the American people.”
The request comes days after Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard released newly declassified documents that she says show senior Obama-era officials manipulated intelligence to promote the collusion narrative.
As CatholicVote reported July 23, Gabbard claims the documents provide “irrefutable evidence” that former President Barack Obama orchestrated a “treasonous conspiracy” to undermine Trump’s 2016 victory. She said she has referred the former president to the FBI and DOJ for criminal prosecution.
On July 23, the DOJ announced the formation of a “strike force” to review the declassified documents and assess potential criminality or wrongdoing.
Although Cornyn and Graham did not comment on the strike force, they noted in their statement that special counsels are outside officials appointed to oversee politically sensitive cases and operate independently of the attorney general, according to FOX News.
According to a July 23 report from The Hill, Obama’s office responded to the accusations earlier this week, stating that “nothing” in the material released by Gabbard “undercuts the widely accepted conclusion that Russia worked to influence the 2016 presidential election but did not successfully manipulate any votes.”
