Republicans are expressing fury over allegations Hillary Clinton operatives paid a contractor to spy on former President Donald Trump during his 2016 campaign and into his presidency.
They are calling it the “biggest crime in U.S. history” while demanding “a total clean out of the political class in Washington.”
Taking to social media, Republican lawmakers offered critical reactions, with Trump calling the scandal “worse than Watergate,” after Special Counsel John Durham filed a motion in federal court in Washington D.C. on Friday alleging Hillary Clinton’s political allies paid a contractor to spy on the former president — both as a candidate, and as president.
“Durham’s report shows that the Trump campaign and White House were illegally spied on, paid for by the Clinton campaign,” wrote Ronna McDaniel, chair of the Republican National Committee (RNC).
“There needs to be accountability,” she added.
“Hillary Clinton is the MOST corrupt politician in American history,” wrote Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-TX). “How she spied on President Trump is CRIMINAL!”
“This is just the tip of the iceberg too. The full truth of Hillary’s crimes have yet to be revealed,” he added. “LOCK HER UP!”
“The corrupt Clinton campaign paid a team to spy on their political opponent,” wrote Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY).
“Congressional investigations are coming,” she added. “The truth will come out.”
“Evidence is out that Hillary Clinton and her campaign allegedly paid tech companies to manufacture a false narrative that Donald Trump was linked with Russia,” wrote Tennessee Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn.
“It’s time for @HillaryClinton to answer serious questions about her ties to the Russia hoax,” she added.
“Hillary Clinton must immediately be held accountable for her involvement in the biggest criminal political corruption story of our lifetime,” wrote House Republican Conference Chair Rep. Elise Stefanik.
“This is the biggest criminal political corruption story of our lifetime,” she added. “America deserves accountability for these crimes.”
“This is bigger than Watergate,” wrote Rep. Mike Johnson of Louisiana.
“Yesterday it was revealed that the Clinton Campaign paid a tech company to infiltrate Trump Tower/White House servers and drum up the now-debunked phony Russian collusion hoax that the media ran with,” wrote GOP Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.).
“What crime are you guilty of if you lose a presidential race and respond by illegally spying on the White House to undermine the duly-elected president?” he asked.
“Hillary’s lawyer conspired with a tech executive to spy on the sitting President,” wrote Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas). “When Trump said this was happening, the media mocked him.”
“Now the corrupt corporate media is trying to ignore it & hide the truth. These criminals NEED TO GO TO JAIL,” he added, including a “#WorseThanWatergate” hashtag.
“When will the MIA principled civil libertarians on the left condemn the abuse of intelligence agencies spying on campaigns? Whether you’re on the left or right the constitution exists for a reason. GET A WARRANT,” wrote Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul.
“If civil libertarians on the left cared a lick about consistency, they’d join me in calling for the US Senate to fully investigate Clinton spying on the Trump campaign!” he added.
“The bombshell stories of election interference from the Clinton campaign against Trump are jaw-dropping,” wrote Rep. Steve Daines (R-MT).
“Clinton’s people need to be held accountable,” he added.
“Someone needs to be held accountable for Hillary Clinton’s spying on the sitting President of the United States,” wrote freshman Republican Rep. Pat Fallon of Texas.
“Now that same media is silent on this massive scandal. They’re complicit,” wrote House Republican Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.).
The report issued by Special Prosecutor Durham is damning to many – the Clinton campaign, partisans at the Department of Justice, and the media,” wrote South Carolina Republican Rep. Nancy Mace.
“It is now fully clear – the Trump campaign and White House were illegally spied on, paid for by the Clinton campaign. This is a worse scandal than watergate, and it needs a Select Committee to investigate,” she added. “People should go to jail for this. Perhaps the media could now start to cover it, rather than cover it up and dismiss it as they’ve done for years now?”
North Carolina Republican Rep. Madison Cawthorn dubbed it the “Clinton Crime Campaign.”
“President Trump is absolutely right,” he asserted. Democrats can spy on a Republican President and the media says nothing. Tout a fake Russia narrative for years and the media get Pulitzer Prizes.”
“Disgusting,” he added.
“A tech company hacked the White House and spied on a sitting President,” wrote GOP Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio.
“This should concern everyone,” he added. “But the mainstream media refuses to cover it,” he added, noting that accusations of Russian links to former President Trump were “all a lie.”
“We know now that the Clinton campaign was conspiring against a legitimately elected President, even after he got elected to the White House. It’s the basis of treasonous activity,” wrote Congressman Greg Steube (R-FL).
“The Dems don’t want you to believe that the Clinton camp was spying on President Trump,” wrote Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.).
“This is far bigger than Watergate, and the truth WILL keep coming out!” he added.
“If politicians can conspire with tech companies to spy on a sitting president, what do you think they can do to you?” asked Rep. Guy Reschenthaler (R-Pa.).
“We were right. It was Hillary,” wrote Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz.
“Keep that in mind as the ‘powers that be’ which tried to frame Trump continue their pursuits,” he added. “Also remember who was telling you the TRUTH!”
“They didn’t just spy on Donald Trump’s campaign. They spied on Donald Trump as sitting President of the United States,” wrote former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows.
“It was all even worse than we thought,” he added.
“Democrats got caught spying, first on candidate Trump and then when he was President IN THE WHITE HOUSE,” wrote House Minority Leader Rep. Kevin McCarthy.
“The Russia hoax was a lie from day one—manufactured by his political enemies—and every person involved with this un-American activity must be brought to justice,” he added.
“The Clinton campaign paid people to create a fake narrative to initiate an investigation that wasted millions of taxpayer dollars – with the sole intent of unseating a sitting President,” wrote Republican Texas congressman Dan Crenshaw.
“The entire Democrat party was complicit,” he added. “Now it looks like we can finally prove it.”
“Every individual responsible for the illegal spying that targeted the Trump campaign and White House should be prosecuted and imprisoned for their crimes,” wrote Long Island Rep. Lee Zeldin, the presumptive Republican nominee for New York governor.
“There needs to be a total clean out of the political class in Washington DC.
They spied on the outsider candidate, lied by calling him a Russian asset and spied on a President of the United States because he wasn’t their choice,” wrote former acting director of national intelligence Richard Grenell.
“This is a crisis,” he added.
“Now we know. The 2016 Clinton campaign was a criminal enterprise. Paying tech executives to infiltrate Trump servers & the White House,” wrote Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley.
“Time for someone to go to jail,” he added.
“It’s time for Hillary Clinton to go to prison—for a VERY long time,” wrote Florida Rep. Anthony Sabatini.
“They spied on a sitting President and a sitting Congressman,” wrote Texas Congressman Troy Nehls. “Not in a third world country, but in the United States of America.”
“That is UNACCEPTABLE,” he added.
“Donald Trump was right,” wrote Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Alabama). “The Clinton campaign and Big Tech spied on both candidate and President Trump.”
“The American people deserve justice,” he added. “Someone needs to go to jail.”
“Trump was right. It was worse than we even imagined,” wrote Rep. Dan Bishop (R-NC). “They spied on him during the campaign and while he was in the White House.”
“We will not forget. We will not let this go. They must be held to account,” he added.”
“The Clinton campaign paid for a spy operation on a sitting President in his White House,” Disgraceful,” wrote Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona.
“This is the biggest crime in U.S. history,” he added.
Follow Joshua Klein on Twitter @JoshuaKlein
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.