Sessions Rejects GOP Call For 2nd Special Counsel, But Taps Top DOJer To Probe Anti-FBI Claims

Attorney General Jeff Sessions speaks at a news conference in Baltimore, Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2017, to announce efforts to combat the MS-13 street gang with law enforcement and immigration actions. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
Attorney General Jeff Sessions speaks at a news conference in Baltimore, Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2017, to announce efforts to combat the MS-13 street gang with law enforcement and immigration actions. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
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Attorney General Jeff Sessions said Thursday that he was for now declining congressional Republicans’ requests for a second special counsel to investigate alleged FBI misconduct in the Trump-Russia probe. But Sessions said he had instead named a top DOJ prosecutor to lead the internal effort to look into the GOP claims.

The announcement, made in a letter to top lawmakers, follows the news Wednesday that the Justice Department’s Inspector General will investigate how the FBI handled the surveillance warrant it sought for former Trump campaign advisor Carter Page.

Sessions said in the letter that hat John Huber, a U.S. attorney in Utah, was working in coordination with the Inspector General’s office on the matters the Republicans raised in their request for a second special counsel earlier this month. Huber has also previously led the National Security Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

“I am confident that Mr. Huber’s review will include a full, complete, and objective evaluation of these matters in a manner that is consistent with the law and the facts,” Sessions said.

Sessions’ letter was addressed to Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA), House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) and House Oversight Chairman Trey Gowdy (R-SC).

Earlier this month, Grassley joined three other Senate Judiciary Republicans in calling for a second special counsel to investigate the FBI’s handling of the Trump-Russia probe. Goodlatte and Gowdy sent Sessions their own letter calling for a second special counsel in early March, alleging “evidence of bias, trending toward animus, among those charged with investigating serious cases.”

Their requests come as President Trump and his allies have engaged in an anti-FBI campaign in apparent effort to undermine Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into his campaign’s Russia ties.  Trump’s own lawyers called for a second special counsel late last year. One of those lawyers, John Dowd, who has since left Trump’s legal team, called for Mueller’s firing earlier this month.

Sessions’ letter Thursday appeared to rebut the congressional Republicans’ claims that the Inspector General did not have the tools necessary to investigate their concerns.

Sessions also stressed the extraordinary circumstances in which a special counsel is appointed. His letter left open the possibility that, depending on what Huber’s and the IG’s reviews turned up, a second special counsel could be appointed.

Read the full letter below:

[H/T HuffPost’s Ryan Reilly]

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