Republican leaders in the House of Representatives are noting their support for a second special counsel in order to investigate allegations by conservatives of bias in the Federal Bureau of Investigation, The Hill reported.
Majority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., said Monday that he favors a second counsel, echoing a similar call from House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., over the weekend, the website reported.
"I agree with the many others who have called for the appointment of an additional special counsel," Scalise said in a statement, The Hill reported.
"The credibility of the Mueller investigation will be in doubt unless we get to the bottom of the many serious questions regarding the FBI's handling of their investigation of the Trump campaign," Scalise said.
House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., have not endorsed the notion of a special counsel, and have not issued criticism of special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, The Hill's report said.
A second special counsel could obscure the Mueller investigation by raising questions about the evidence in the probe.
President Donald Trump's legal team wants a second special counsel to probe whether FBI and Justice Department officials abused the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) by spying on former campaign adviser Carter Page, The Hill reported.
Other Republicans who have expressed support for a second special counsel include Reps. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., and Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C. They called for Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to appoint a second special counsel to look into whether there was any "extraneous influence" in the FISA application process, The Hill reported.
Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., sent a letter to Sessions and Rosenstein last week calling for a special counsel, The Hill reported.
In February, 13 Republicans in the House sent a letter to Sessions calling for a surveillance abuse counsel.
Democratic congressman Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, rejected the idea of a second special counsel.
"That appears to be a political distraction machine… I think that's the point of it, for them to try to equate everything, basically try to paint a picture as though everybody messed up, or everybody's bad, therefore nobody's bad," Castro said in The Hill report.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.