GOP chairmen demand special counsel

WASHINGTON—Two top House Republicans on Tuesday penned a letter to the Justice Department requesting a special counsel be appointed to investigate decisions made during the 2016 election. Reps. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., and Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., the House Oversight and Judiciary committee chiefs respectively, said widespread abuses at the FBI and Justice Department require an outside counsel to investigate. “Matters have arisen—both recently and otherwise—which necessitate the appointment of a Special Counsel,” Gowdy and Goodlatte wrote. “We do not make this observation and attendant request lightly.” Republicans last month fumed over a published memo they said showed the Justice Department unethically obtained a warrant under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) to monitor former Trump campaign aide Carter Page based on partisan evidence. In Tuesday’s letter, addressed to Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, Gowdy and Goodlatte claim the entire FISA process needs review. “There is evidence of bias, trending toward animus, among those charged with investigating serious cases,” the letter said.