GOP leader clears air after calls for purge of FBI staff
Washington, Dec. 28: After saying he supported a “purge” of the FBI and department of justice a Republican US lawmaker on Wednesday toned down his call but still said he was “frustrated” with investigators he thinks may be biased.
One day prior, the Florida representative Francis Rooney had called for a “purge” of officials in the FBI and justice department, a notion raised as special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation is increasingly threatening President Donald Trump’s inner circle
“I’m very concerned that the DOJ and the FBI, whether you want to call it ‘ deep state’ or what, are kind of off the rails,” Rooney said.
On Wednesday, he conceded the term “purge” may be “a pretty strong word,” but said he was still “pretty frustrated” with what he sees as politically compromised officials, including alleged bias in the FBI after a top agent’s antiTrump text messages were released to the media. That news led Republicans in recent weeks to press the US justice department to name a new independent prosecutor to head the investigation into potential collusion between Trump’s campaign team and Russia.
Mr Trump’s lawyer Jay Sekulow also called for an outside investigation into bias, in a move aimed at putting the Mueller team on the defensive. FBI agent Peter Strzok and its law- yer Lisa Page were drop- ped from the probe.