Rand Paul: ‘Time for Congress to investigate’ Obama

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said Wednesday that lawmakers should investigate former President Obama, suggesting that he could have played a role in the years-long Russia investigation that concluded over the weekend.

In a tweet, the senator suggested that Congress should probe the origins of the now-concluded special counsel investigation into Russian election interference and possible ties with the Trump campaign, seemingly suggesting that Obama was involved in the FBI probe that predated it.

“I agree with @kimguilfoyle Time for Congress to investigate. What did President Obama know and when? How did this hoax go on for so long unabated?” Paul asked.

I agree with @kimguilfoyle Time for Congress to investigate. What did President Obama know and when? How did this hoax go on for so long unabated? https://t.co/fgJZaqR6cI

— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) March 27, 2019

Obama reportedly was informed by the FBI in 2016 that the bureau was investigating Russian attempts to interfere in the 2016 election, but, according to former Vice President Biden’s telling, Obama was warned against going public with the investigation by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).{mosads}

Obama, during his tenure, said he confronted Russian President Vladimir Putin about Russian interference in the 2016 election. The former president, according to The New York Times, said he told Putin “to cut it out, there were going to be serious consequences if he did not.”

The FBI’s probe of the campaign began following comments former Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos reportedly made to Australian diplomats about Russia’s theft of emails from the Democratic National Committee in May 2016.

The New York Times reported in 2018 that Papadopoulos’s comments led to the FBI’s counterintelligence investigation into Russian interference, which evolved into the special counsel probe after President Trump fired former FBI Director James Comey in 2017.

Trump and his allies have repeatedly attacked the Mueller investigation as a partisan effort to undermine his presidency.