WASHINGTON — Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said Tuesday that probing the Trump administration’s ties to Russia after the resignation of National Security Adviser Michael Flynn would be “excessive,” and that Republicans shouldn’t be wasting time investigating members of their own party.
Paul, speaking on Fox News’ “Kilmeade and Friends” radio show, took issue with calls by fellow Senate Republicans, including Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), for a thorough investigation.
“You know, I think that might be excessive,” Paul said. “I think that it looks like the president has handled the situation, and unless there’s some kind of other evidence of malfeasance, this sounds like something that was internal White House politics, and it looks like the president’s handled it.”
Paul suggested Republicans ought to be looking out for members of their party.
“I just don’t think it’s useful to be doing investigation after investigation, particularly of your own party,” he said. “We’ll never even get started with doing the things we need to do like repealing Obamacare if we’re spending our whole time having Republicans investigate Republicans. I think it makes no sense.”
Flynn resigned Monday after it was revealed that he had contact with Russia’s U.S. ambassador during the presidential transition about sanctions against the Kremlin, and misled the White House about those conversations. In a briefing Tuesday, White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Flynn’s dismissal came down to “an issue of trust.”