Lawmakers Demand Mueller Unmask Team Members to Root Out ‘Politically Biased Investigators’

FILE - In this June 13, 2013 file photo, FBI Director Robert Mueller listens as he testifi
AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite
Joshua Caplan

A group of Republican lawmakers have requested Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein hand over the names of every individual working on special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe.

The seven GOP lawmakers told Rosenstein they are “disturbed” by the perceived anti-Trump bias demonstrated by FBI agent Peter Strzok and attorneys Lisa Page and Kevin Clinesmith — previous members of Mueller’s team. They are asking for the names of every staffer working on the probe — previous and current — over concerns “there may be more politically biased investigators.”

“We know that these biases were shared among multiple people at the FBI and could be easily uncovered by Mr. Mueller with simple vetting,” the Congressmen wrote the Justice Department’s second-highest ranking official. “These individuals should not have been given an opportunity to influence – directly or indirectly – this special counsel investigation.”

“Republicans have said they believe Clinesmith is the attorney identified in DOJ Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz’s report on the Hillary Clinton email investigation as “Attorney 2.” The Horowitz report, released earlier this month, includes messages from “Attorney 2” lamenting Trump’s election as well as a missive reading “viva le resistance,” reports Fox News.

The letter was signed by the following Congressmen: Andy Biggs (R-AZ), Scott DesJarlais (R-TN), Matt Gaetz (R-FL), Paul Gosar (R-AZ), Jody Hice (R-GA), Scott Perry (R-PA) and Ralph Norman (R-SC).

Strzok is scheduled to appear before the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday after chairman Bob Goodlatte subpenaed the disgraced FBI agent last week.

According to the Inspector General report, text messages sent by Strzok during the Clinton investigation were “not only indicative of a biased state of mind but, even more seriously, implies a willingness to take official action to impact the presidential candidate’s electoral prospects. This is antithetical to the core values of the FBI and the Department of Justice.”

Rosenstein and FBI Director Christopher Wray are scheduled to testify on Thursday before the House Judiciary Committee and answer questions regarding the report’s findings.

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