Sen. John Cornyn of Texas calls for special counsel to probe Obama ‘election interference’

Sen. John Cornyn of Texas has joined Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina in calling for a special counsel to probe whether former president Barack Obama interfered in the 2016 election, The Hill reports.

The two Republicans assert that Obama weaponized the specter of Russian interference the 2016 election in a bid to undermine President Donald Trump and secure a victory for opponent Hillary Clinton. Never mind, of course, that Trump beat Clinton and won the White House.

The senators demanded the investigation a day after Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard released previously classified documents in an effort to bolster her claim that the Russian interference was “manufactured” by the Obama White House in an act of “treasonous” conspiracy.

“They knew it would promote this contrived narrative that Russia interfered in the 2016 election to help President Trump win, selling it to the American people as though it were true,” Gabbard told CNN.
However, multiple investigations since the 2016 contest have supported claims of Russian interference, including 2020 findings by the Republican-lead Senate Intelligence Committee, chaired by Sen. Marco Rubio, who now heads Trump’s State Department.

In 2019, the Biden Department of Justice under the direction of Robert Mueller released a report stating that Russia “interfered in the 2016 presidential election in sweeping and systematic fashion.”

Further, Gabbard didn’t dispute that Russia interfered in the election, just whether it did so in support of Trump. Rather, she argues the interference was a bid to undermine U.S. democracy, CNN reports.

Despite the evidence to the contrary, Cornyn on Thursday referred to questions around the 2016 election as the “Russia collusion hoax,” echoing a common Republican dog whistle.

“As we have supported in the past, appointing an independent special counsel would do the country a tremendous service in this case,” Cornyn said in a statement provided to The Hill. “With every piece of information that gets released, it becomes more evident that the entire Russia collusion hoax was created by the Obama Administration to subvert the will of the American people.”

“Democrats and the liberal media have been out to get President Trump since 2016,” he continued. “There must be an immediate investigation of what we believe to be an unprecedented and clear abuse of power by a U.S. presidential administration.”

This isn’t the first time and likely won’t be the last Cornyn panders to Trump as the senator approaches the 2026 midterms. He faces a primary challenge from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a die-hard ally of the president. Despite Paxton being mired in controversy, recent polls show Lone Star State Republican voters favoring the AG over Cornyn.

Graham echoed Cornyn’s statement on X, accusing Obama of orchestrating a web of manipulation to hurt Trump’s campaign. 
“For the good of the country, Senator @JohnCornyn and I urge Attorney General Bondi to appoint a special counsel to investigate the extent to which former President Obama, his staff and administration officials manipulated the U.S. national security apparatus for a political outcome,” Graham tweeted.

On Tuesday, Trump accused Obama of “treason” in a meandering response to a reporter in the Oval Office.

“They tried to steal the election,” Trump said, according to a multiple media reports. “They tried to obfuscate the election. They did things that nobody’s ever even imagined, even in other countries.”

Obama has already fired back at the Trump administration’s allegations, issuing a rare rebuke in a statement to The Hill. An Obama spokesman called the claims a “weak attempt at distraction” from mounting cries that Trump is covering up his ties to notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, a scandal now splintering the MAGA base.

“Out of respect for the office of the presidency, our office does not normally dignify the constant nonsense and misinformation flowing out of this White House with a response. But these claims are outrageous enough to merit one,” Obama spokesman Patrick Rodenbush said. “These bizarre allegations are ridiculous and a weak attempt at distraction.”

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This article appears in Jul 23 – Aug 6, 2025.