A group of House conservatives Tuesday introduced a resolution calling for a second special counsel to investigate allegations of wrongdoing by the Department of Justice and FBI during the 2016 presidential election.
The 12-page resolution outlines multiple allegations of misconduct against the FBI and Justice Department that the lawmakers say warrant an investigation.
“In just the past few days, we learned that the DOJ, FBI or both appear to have planted at least one person into Donald Trump’s presidential campaign to infiltrate and surveil the campaign,” Rep Lee Zeldin, New York Republican, said.
“This action alone reminds us of just how necessary this resolution is as well as the appointment of a second special counsel.”
Mr. Zeldin was joined by 11 Republican lawmakers as he announced the resolution at a press conference. House Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows of North Carolina, along with Reps. Jim Jordan of Ohio, Matt Gaetz of Florida, Louie Gohmert of Texas and Jody Hice of Georgia were among those who attended the press conference.
“The Justice Department cannot be expected to investigate itself,” Mr. Zeldin said, referring to the Justice Department’s behavior as “gross misconduct.”
Mr. Zeldin said a second special prosecutor would look into whether there was any political motivation have have lead to the appointment of special counsel Robert Mueller to look into potential Russian collusion with President Trump’s campaign.
The resolution calls for the special prosecutor to investigate the FBI’s use of unverified sources to obtain warrants issued by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review (FISA Court), the FBI’s decision not to charge Hillary Clinton for her use of a private server while secretary of state, allegations the Justice Department had an informant inside the Trump campaign and former FBI Director James Comey sharing classified memos with a personal friend.
Some of the allegations Mr. Zeldin wants probed are already being reviewed by Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz. Mr. Horowitz has completed a review of the FBI’s investigation into Mrs. Clinton’s email server.
The resolution was announced a day after Mr. Trump met with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and FBI Director Christopher Wray. Mr. Rosenstein had referred the spying allegations to Mr. Horowitz for review, but it is not known if the inspector general will launch an investigation.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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