Graham, Cornyn call for special counsel in Obama case

A pair of top Senate Republicans called for a special counsel to be appointed Thursday to probe whether former President Obama aided an effort to undermine President Trump’s 2016 White House bid.

Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas) pressed for the appointment, saying they want answers about how Obama and his administration “manipulated” matters in the hopes of a Hillary Clinton victory in 2016

“For the good of the country, Senator @JohnCornyn and I urge Attorney General Bondi to appoint a special counsel to investigate the extent to which former President Obama, his staff and administration officials manipulated the U.S. national security apparatus for a political outcome,” Graham posted on the social platform X. 

The call came a day after Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard released a new document casting doubts on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s desire to aid Trump in the contest, though it backed up the argument that Russia wanted to interfere in the election writ large. 

The document was part of a House Intelligence Committee report stemming from when Republicans controlled the chamber, and it was classified until Gabbard released it. Although it does not dispute that Moscow interfered in the election, it sheds light on the Obama administration’s handling of Russia’s activity at the time.

It was the second recent disclosure by Gabbard seeking to discredit the Obama administration. Last week, she released a report alleging Obama officials manipulated intelligence related to Russian interference in the 2016 election and accused former officials of engaging in a “treasonous conspiracy.” 

A number of intelligence reviews determined the Russians sought to influence the 2016 contest and that Putin wanted Trump to emerge victorious. 

“As we have supported in the past, appointing an independent special counsel would do the country a tremendous service in this case,” Cornyn said in a statement. “With every piece of information that gets released, it becomes more evident that the entire Russia collusion hoax was created by the Obama Administration to subvert the will of the American people.”

“Democrats and the liberal media have been out to get President Trump since 2016,” he continued. “There must be an immediate investigation of what we believe to be an unprecedented and clear abuse of power by a U.S. presidential administration.”

An Obama spokesperson issued a rare rebuke of Trump’s claim that the ex-president committed “treason,” noting the Senate Intelligence Committee in 2020 backed that the Russians attempted to sway votes but were not successful. The committee at the time also backed up the work of the intelligence community during that stretch.

That panel was chaired by then-Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who now leads the State Department. 

“Out of respect for the office of the presidency, our office does not normally dignify the constant nonsense and misinformation flowing out of this White House with a response. But these claims are outrageous enough to merit one,” said Patrick Rodenbush, an Obama spokesperson. “These bizarre allegations are ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction.”

The Trump administration has released the documents as it tries to pivot away from the Jeffrey Epstein story, while lawmakers issue subpoenas in search of answers on the case.