Monday, Rep. Steve Scalise joined the growing chorus within the GOP calling for a second special counsel to investigate possible FISA court abuse. From Fox News:

“I agree with the many others who have called for the appointment of an additional special counsel,” Scalise said in a statement…

In his statement, Scalise referenced the infamous, unverified anti-Trump dossier that was written by former British MI6 agent Christopher Steele, funded by Democrats and used by the FBI to obtain a warrant from the FISA court to spy on Trump adviser Carter Page.

Scalise said a second special counsel — unlike Special Counsel Robert Mueller — should have the “authority to look into the potential abuses of the FISA system that allowed the Democrat-funded Steele Dossier to serve as the basis for the initial FBI investigation.”

Rep. Scalise joined Rep. Kevin McCarthy who also called for a second special counsel over the weekend on Judge Jeanine Pirro’s show (video below). During a discussion of the McCabe firing, McCarthy said, “That is why we need a second special counsel.” He continued, “And I give Chairman Gowdy and Goodlatte a lot of credit, and all those members.

“They sent that letter to Jeff Sessions, he is looking at it. But we need the ability—because an inspector general does not have subpoena power outside of the direction so, we need somebody to look at this, and not from the inside because you can’t trust what’s happening right now.”

Rep. McCarthy was referring to a letter that Rep. Gowdy and Rep. Goodlatte sent to Attorney General Sessions earlier this month. That letter called for a special counsel to look at decisions “made and not made” in 2016 and 2017, including possible FISA court abuse and potential bias that may have influenced decisions to charge or not charge people with crimes.

The letter from Gowdy and Goodlatte followed on the heels of a letter by Rep. Lee Zeldin who asked AG Sessions to appoint a second special counsel late last month. Today, Rep. Zeldin celebrated the addition of Rep. Scalise and Rep. McCarthy to his cause:

HUGE NEWS: @GOPLeader & @SteveScalise just joined call for appt of 2nd Special Counsel!! I originally penned attached letter that 12 fellow Reps signed onto. Accountability & transparency needed re misconduct how/why Clinton probe ended, Trump-Russia probe began & FISA Abuse! pic.twitter.com/GemCSlHzks

— Lee Zeldin (@RepLeeZeldin) March 20, 2018

Last week, four GOP Senators, Chuck Grassley, Lindsey Graham, Thom Tillis, and John Cornyn, also joined the call for a second special counsel. However, so far House Speaker Paul Ryan and Majority Leader Mitch McConnell have not joined those calls.

Here’s the clip of Rep. McCarthy on Pirro’s show.

https://youtu.be/n5IycKY3gjU?t=2m16s