Senate Judiciary Republicans vote to subpoena Obama officials about the Mueller investigation

Sen. Lindsey Graham.
(Image credit: ERIN SCHAFF/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

The Senate Judiciary Committee voted Thursday to authorize several subpoenas against ex-officials from former President Barack Obama's administration in an attempt to investigate the origins of the intelligence community's Russia investigation.

The party-line vote will let Senate Judiciary Chair Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) subpoena former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, former CIA Director John Brennan, and other officials. The decision comes a week after the Senate Homeland Security Committee's GOP majority voted to subpoena several Obama officials regarding the "unmasking" of former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.

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While debating the authorization, Democratic senators suggested subpoenaing former Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner, former Trump campaign chair Paul Manafort, and Rudy Giuliani, among others. The Republican majority voted them down every time. Kathryn Krawczyk

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Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.