New FBI texts divide Congress over need for second special counsel

Congressional lawmakers are divided over the need to appoint a new special counsel to probe how the FBI handled its investigation into Hillary Clinton’s private email server and whether political motivations are behind the current special investigation into the Trump administration.

Some House Republicans last week said text messages sent between two romantically linked FBI agents suggest the bureau worked to shield Clinton from a criminal indictment over her use of the server while serving as secretary of state and her use of private email to send classified information.

The evident FBI bias, Republican lawmakers argue, could extend into the investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller, who is examining whether the Trump presidential campaign colluded with Russia.

“The more text messages that come out, the more biases you see,” Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla, told the Washington Examiner.

But Lankford is not among those calling for a new special counsel, a situation that escalated last week when the FBI initially reported it could not find five months of messages sent between FBI agents Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, who both served on Mueller’s investigation team until their affair was discovered.