Following on the attorney general's promise to investigate alleged 'spying' on Donald Trump's campaign, two GOP senators are asking the internal watchdog for the intelligence community to investigate "apparent leaks" to the media during the Russia probe. In other words, Sens. Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin are following the lead of Trump and Attorney General William Barr to investigate the investigators, according to TPM.
In particular, the two senators are focused on texts between former FBI officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page during the Russia investigation that cited unspecified actors "leaking like mad" and a reference to "all these weird/seemingly incorrect leads all these media folks have."
In a May 6 letter, Grassley and Johnson say they are "looking forward" the Justice Department's inspector general (IG) report regarding "potential FISA abuses and leaks from FBI personnel."
“However these texts and emails demonstrate the need to investigate leaks from agencies or entities other than FBI," they added. "Accordingly has the intelligence community office of the inspector general initiated an investigation into these apparent leaks? If not, please explain why not.”
The GOP's enthusiasm for these baseless, conspiratorial investigations is really starting to feel on par with "Red Scare"-era accusations whipped up by then-Sen. Joseph McCarthy in the late '40s and early '50s.