Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced yesterday that, in response to issues raised by Republican House Judiciary Committee members, he has directed senior prosecutors to evaluate if a special counsel should be appointed to investigate various scandals involving the Clintons including the Uranium One deal and allegations surrounding the Clinton Foundation.
JUST IN: Attorney General Jeff Sessions has directed senior federal prosecutors to evaluate whether a special counsel should be appointed to investigate concerns raised by Republicans, including alleged unlawful dealings by Clinton Foundation and the sale of a uranium company pic.twitter.com/YthDt9ozMn
— NBC News (@NBCNews) November 14, 2017
In a letter sent to the House Judiciary Committee yesterday, an assistant prosecutor from Jeff Session’s Justice Department officially stated that US attorneys will be reviewing the various allegations surrounding the Uranium One deal as well as other dealings involving the Clintons.
These senior prosecutors will report directly to the Attorney General and the Deputy Attorney General, as appropriate, and will make recommendations as to whether any matters not currently under investigation should be opened, whether any matters currently under investigation require further resources, or whether any matters merit the appointment of a Special Counsel. This will better enable the Attorney General and the Deputy Attorney General to more effectively evaluate and manage the caseload.
The letter specially mentioned investigating the FBI’s handling of the Clinton email case to determine if policy violations took place, such as FBI Director James Comey’s statement that he was pressured to call the probe a “matter” rather than an investigation.
The letter specifically mentioned allegations related to the FBI’s handling of the Clinton email probe, including allegations that DOJ and FBI “policies or procedures” were “not followed in connection with, or in actions leading up to or related to” then-FBI Director James Comey’s public announcement to close the Clinton email “matter” on July 5, 2016, or the letter he sent lawmakers on October 28, 2016, about newly discovered Clinton emails, and that those “investigative decisions were based on improper considerations.”
“The Department has forwarded a copy of your letters to the IG so he can determine whether he should expand the scope of his investigation based on the information contained in those letters,” Boyd wrote. “Once the IG’s review is complete, the Department will assess what, if any, additional steps are necessary to address any issues identified by that review.”
While the Justice Department did not confirm or deny an ongoing investigation into Clinton matters, administration officials pointed Fox News to the attorney general’s testimony at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee in January, raising questions over whether he would recuse himself from this investigation.
In short, the Justice Department’s letter essentially informs Congressional officials that federal prosecutors will be reviewing the concerns brought forth by House Judiciary Committee members, including the sale of Uranium One in addition to “alleged unlawful dealings related to the Clinton Foundation and other matter.”
However, the letter did not confirm that an investigation into these cases is taking place, but rather it only confirmed that federal attorneys are in the process of determining if an investigation or special counsel is warranted.
Jeff Sessions has been on the receiving end of criticism from Trump voters as of late, with many upset at his seeming unwillingness to investigate alleged crimes on the part of the Clintons and Obama administration. Such cases include the Clintons benefiting financially from the Uranium One deal, using the Clinton Foundation for the purpose of money laundering and the unmasking of American citizens during the election under Obama. Sessions has received further criticism for his recusal from all matters involving Russia or the Clintons
In fact, even President Trump himself has been questioning Sessions and his seeming unwillingness to investigate “Crooked Hillary”.
Everybody is asking why the Justice Department (and FBI) isn’t looking into all of the dishonesty going on with Crooked Hillary & the Dems..
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 3, 2017
There is no shortage of willingness on the part of Trump supporters to pursue an in-depth investigation of Hillary Clinton and the many years of allegations of corruption on her part, as chants of “lock her up” were a frequent occurrence at Trump’s campaign rallies.
During a 5-hour testimony to the House Judiciary Committee today, Session was again pressed on the issue of appointing a special counsel to investigate alleged Clinton crimes. Session’s response mirrored his past statements.
Conservative Republicans on the committee pressed Sessions on whether he will appoint a second special counsel to investigate actions taken by former FBI director James Comey and former attorney general Loretta Lynch related to the closure of the email investigation that dogged Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. The FBI investigated Clinton’s use of a private email server while she was secretary of State but never charged her with any crime.
In a letter to Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., on Monday, Assistant Attorney General Stephen Boyd said Sessions has directed senior federal prosecutors to evaluate Republican members’ requests for a special counsel.
“These senior prosecutors will report directly to the Attorney General and Deputy Attorney General, as appropriate, and will make recommendations as to whether any matters not currently under investigation should be opened, whether any matters currently under investigation require further resources, or whether any matters merit the appointment of a Special Counsel,” Boyd wrote.
Sessions repeated the gist of that statement Tuesday and added that he could not confirm or deny that any investigations have been opened into Obama administration activities or actions by Clinton.
He said that any decisions about possible investigations would be made “without regard to politics, ideology, or bias.”
In short, Sessions continues to “neither confirm or deny” that any investigation into allegations involving Clinton or the Obama administration are taking place.
Whether the Justice Department’s letter to Republicans is nothing more than an attempt to placate their calls for another special counsel, or Jeff Sessions is working behind the scenes to ensure that all Americans, no matter their political status, are held to the same standard of laws as any citizen remains to be seen. However, as patience on the part of Trump supporters runs thin, their calls to “lock her up” may eventually turn into pressure to replace Sessions with an attorney general who is willing to take on the massive Clinton cartel.