Sen. Rand Paul called special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation “un-libertarian” in response to Rep. Justin Amash pushing for President Trump’s impeachment.
Both Paul and Amash are two of the most high-profile libertarians in Congress, but disagree on what Mueller’s findings mean for Trump.
“As a libertarian Republican, I think the whole investigation has an un-libertarian feel,” Paul, R-Ky., told Fox News on Thursday. “You have an intelligence community that has so much power, that many libertarians, we’ve always said, ‘Gosh this much power could be abused.’”
Paul said former FBI Director James Comey, former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, and former CIA Director John Brennan abused their power.
“This great power we entrusted with them to spy on foreigners and they directed it against Americans for partisan reasons,” said Paul. “So, I think this has to be investigated and I think it’s wrong for any Republican to think oh gosh, this is a legitimate investigation. I think it’s a very partisan investigation.”
In the last week, Amash, R-Mich., has repeatedly called for Congress to begin the impeachment process. He is the first Republican in Congress to push for impeachment.
[Related: Amash: ‘The ball is in our court, Congress’]
He has also criticized Attorney General William Barr over his handling of the release of Mueller’s report, accusing the top Justice Department official of misleading the public about Mueller’s findings.
Mueller spoke publicly for the first time about the investigation on Wednesday, saying his team did not consider charging Trump with a crime because of longstanding Justice Department guidelines against indicting a sitting president.
