A group of nine Republicans want Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to disclose to Congress the names of all who have served or are currently serving on special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election.
“Congress’s constitutional oversight gives us the responsibility to know who is involved — and whether other members of Mr. Mueller’s team harbor political biases and have conflicts of interest,” the Republicans wrote in a letter Monday to Rosenstein. “These investigators endanger our ability to uphold justice. The American people expect more from their representatives.”
A report from the Justice Department’s internal watchdog found that one FBI lawyer quietly left Mueller’s probe in February after politically charged messages he exchanged with other employees were turned over to the special counsel.
The lawyer, believed by Republicans to be Kevin Clinesmith, was one of five FBI employees — including Peter Strzok and Lisa Page — assigned to the bureau’s investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server who were found to have exchanged messages that “included statements of hostility” toward President Trump.
The Office of the Inspector General said it referred information about the derogatory messages to the FBI for further handling and consideration as to whether the messages violated the bureau’s Offense Code of Conduct.
Though the report chided the FBI employees for their politically charged messages, the inspector general said there was no evidence political bias affected “investigative decisions” related to the Clinton email investigation.
The GOP lawmakers said they were “disturbed” that Page, Strzok, and Clinesmith were selected to serve on Mueller’s team, which is also investigating possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.
“We know that these biases were shared among multiple people at the FBI and could be easily uncovered by Mr. Mueller with simple vetting,” they wrote. “These individuals should not have been given an opportunity to influence – directly or indirectly – this special counsel investigation.”
Rosenstein and FBI Director Chris Wray are scheduled to testify before the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday about the inspector general’s report on the Justice Department and FBI’s handling of the Clinton email probe.
The Republicans who sent the letter to Rosenstein are Reps. Andy Biggs of Arizona, Scott DesJarlais of Tennessee, Jeff Duncan of South Carolina, Matt Gaetz of Florida, Paul Gosar of Arizona, Andy Harris of Maryland, Jody Hice of Georgia, Ralph Norman of South Carolina, and Scott Perry of Pennsylvania.
