Sessions, for now, rebuffs GOP calls for second special counsel to probe FBI actions

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Washington Post

Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Thursday rebuffed at least for now a call from GOP leaders to appoint a second special counsel to look into the FBI's handling of its most high-profile probes and announced that he has asked the U.S. attorney in Utah to spearhead a broad review.

Sessions made the revelation in a letter to three key Republican leaders in the House and Senate who have called on him to appoint a second special counsel, noting that Justice Department regulations call for such appointments only in extraordinary circumstances, and that he would need to conclude the public interest would be served by removing a large degree of responsibility for the matter from the Department of Justice.

He asserted that the department has previously tackled high-profile and resource intensive probes, and revealed he had named U.S. attorney John W. Huber to lead a review of the topics that the legislators had requested he explore. Those topics include aspects of the Russia investigation and several matters related to Hillary Clinton and her family's foundation.

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 wrote. I receive regular updates from Mr. Huber and upon the conclusion of his review, will receive his recommendations as to whether any matters not currently under investigation require further resources, or whether any merit the appointment of a Special Counsel.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/sessions-for-now-rebuffs-gop-calls-for-second-special-counsel-to-probe-fbi-actions-in-clinton-and-russia-probes/2018/03/29/3f79a938-3393-11e8-8bdd-cdb33a5eef83_story.html

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Full title: Sessions, for now, rebuffs GOP calls for second special counsel to probe FBI actions in Clinton and Russia probes

[Leghorn21]

1. I was visiting freeps peeps in their land not long ago and they were positively slobbering

over the thought of getting a second special counsel appointed to take down the Deep State...

This is GREAT NEWS!!

[vkkv]

2. Terrible state of affairs when Jeff Sessions appears to be the sane one in the GOP camp.

[ananda]

3. However, didn't Sessions just appoint a special counsel..

.. to investigate the FBI itself?

[BumRushDaShow]

4. It's a different position

Washington (CNN)Attorney General Jeff Sessions is not naming a new special counsel to investigate Republican-driven accusations against the FBI -- at least for now. Instead, Sessions revealed Thursday that Utah's top federal prosecutor, John Huber, is looking into allegations that the FBI abused its powers in surveilling a former Trump campaign adviser, and more should have been done to investigate Hillary Clinton's ties to a Russian nuclear energy agency, but his identity had remained a secret.

Sessions' decision to stop short of formally appointing a special counsel like Robert Mueller, detailed in a lengthy written response to three Republican chairmen on Capitol Hill, will likely anger those in the GOP who have recently ramped up calls to investigate claims of political bias at the nation's top law enforcement agencies. The attorney general said he will rely on Huber's review to determine if a special counsel is needed.

<...>

Huber, who currently serves as the US attorney in Utah, may now find himself thrust into the middle of a fierce partisan struggle -- with Republicans arguing anything short of a special counsel is insufficient because the Justice Department cannot investigate its own people, and Democrats maintaining that any allegations of bias are an unfounded ploy to distract from Mueller's investigation into possible coordination between Trump campaign associates and Russian officials.

Originally appointed by President Barack Obama in 2015, Huber, along with many other US attorneys, resigned after President Donald Trump took office early last year, but was reappointed by Trump shortly thereafter.

https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/29/politics/sessions-prosecutor-fbi-misconduct-clinton-uranium-one-special-counsel/index.html

[riversedge]

5. Sessions, in letter to Goodlatte, Gowdy, and Grassley, says he has concluded that the circumstances

Lee in Iowa and 4 others liked
Natasha Bertrand
‏Verified account @NatashaBertrand
2h2 hours ago

Sessions, in letter to Goodlatte, Gowdy, and Grassley, says he has concluded that the circumstances don't justify the appointment of a second special counsel to investigate FBI misconduct. How will Trump take this? https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/4426661/AG-Letter-Re-IG-and-Huber-Reviews.pdf …

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