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Two FBI agents assigned to the investigation into alleged collusion between President Donald  Trump's campaign and Russia exchanged text messages referring to the future president as an "idiot,"  according to copies of messages turned over to Congress Tuesday night by the Justice Department. Special Counsel Robert Mueller removed one of the agents, Peter Strzok, from the Russia probe "immediately" after learning of the texts in late July, the department said in a letter to lawmakers. The messages, which were turned up during a Justice Department inspector general investigation into potential political influence on investigative decisions during the campaign, are fueling Republican calls for a second special counsel to investigate Mueller's operation. About 375 texts were handed over by the Justice Department, arriving on Capitol Hill the night before Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein is expected to face a prolonged grilling in fron...

The Senate Ethics Committee formally launched an investigation into Sen. Al Franken on Thursday, hours after another woman said the Minnesota senator groped her. As allegations mounted against Franken, several fellow Democratic members of Congress said Thursday that he should resign. Rep. Joe Crowley of New York, the chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, and Rep. Tim Ryan of Ohio said separately that it’s time for Franken to go. “These are credible allegations, and I believe these women,” Ryan tweeted, in reference to allegations against both Franken and U.S. Rep. John Conyers of Michigan, also a Democrat. Franken so far has resisted calls to resign, instead supporting the Ethics Committee investigation. “While the Committee does not generally comment on pending matters or matters that may come before it, in this instance, the Committee is publicly confirming that it has opened a preliminary inquiry into Senator Franken’s alleged misconduct,” read...

The Government Accountability Office will investigate President Donald Trump's voting commission after a request by Democratic senators. Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet published the letter he received from GAO confirming the investigation, which the Democrat asked for with colleagues Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar and New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker. The three lawmakers wrote to the government watchdog last week asking them to look into federal funds used to support the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity, the body's work on voter participation, what information and methodology the commission is using for its conclusions, how it is protecting any voter information collected and how it is following regulations. In its response this week, GAO said the work was "within the scope of its authority" and would begin in about five months, based on agency staffing. Trump ordered the creation of the commission after pledging to work to preserve...

A panel of government officials to investigate cases that figure in the so-called Paradise Papers, a trove of leaked documents about offshore investments of wealthy individuals and institutions. Officials from government bodies and the central bank will carry out and monitor the investigation, the finance ministry said. The leaked documents were obtained by Germany’s Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper and shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and some media outlets.