Senators Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and John Cornyn of Texas are now reportedly calling for the appointment of a special counsel to investigate what they describe as explosive evidence implicating former President Barack Obama and top officials from his administration in a politically motivated campaign to undermine President Donald Trump in 2016.
Their demands come on the heels of a document release by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, who unveiled declassified materials last week that reignited longstanding concerns over the origins of the Trump-Russia investigation.
The documents, according to Gabbard and her allies, suggest that Obama-era officials, including Obama himself, may have orchestrated what they now describe as a “treasonous conspiracy” to interfere in a U.S. election.
While several establishment media outlets — including The Wall Street Journal, National Review, and Fox News contributor Andy McCarthy — have sought to downplay or reframe the revelations, the calls for accountability are only growing louder within conservative ranks.
Graham and Cornyn, in a joint statement, argued that “appointing an independent special counsel would do the country a tremendous service in this case.”
The two senators added, “With every piece of information that gets released, it becomes more evident that the entire Russia collusion hoax was created by the Obama administration to subvert the will of the American people.”
Despite media pushback and commentary suggesting that the matter has already been settled by former Special Counsel John Durham’s investigation, Gabbard confirmed Wednesday that the administration is actively considering referring the case to the Department of Justice — possibly for criminal prosecution of the former president.
Gabbard’s move has prompted unease among some conservative commentators. The Wall Street Journal editorial board acknowledged Trump’s frustration, noting he “is still angry, understandably so, about the lurid and fictional Steele dossier and how he was dragged down an empty ‘collusion’ rabbit hole.” Still, the paper argued that Durham had already “picked over this episode.”
That same sentiment was echoed by National Review, which cited Durham’s four-year, 306-page report. The investigation concluded that the Clinton campaign was “principally responsible for fabricating the story,” and that the FBI acted with “reckless irresponsibility” by relying on the discredited Steele dossier without taking basic steps to verify it.
However, the magazine emphasized that “even horribly bad judgment” and “unethical conduct” fall short of being criminal unless a law was explicitly broken.
But for Graham, Cornyn, and a growing number of Americans skeptical of the official narrative, that answer no longer suffices.
They argue that, at a minimum, the American public deserves a full and independent inquiry — one with prosecutorial authority — to restore trust in government and ensure that intelligence agencies are never again weaponized for political purposes.
As Gabbard continues to face criticism from the usual Beltway circles, she has remained undeterred. “The American people have a right to know the truth,” she said this week. For now, it appears many in the GOP agree — and they want accountability, no matter how high it reaches.
[READ MORE: O’Reilly and Carville Clash Over Alleged Obama-Era Plot Against President Trump]
