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

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 a host of their concerns and announced that he has asked the U.S. Attorney in Utah to spearhead a broad review. (Rich Pedroncelli/AP)
 

By Matt Zapotosky March 29 at 6:28 PM Email the author

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.”

Sessions in November revealed to GOP legislators that he had directed senior federal prosecutors to look into matters they wanted probed, and he said in an interview with Fox News earlier this month that review was being led by a person outside of Washington. Sessions, though, had not revealed the name of that person, and his public comments have done little to quiet the cries for a second special counsel.
 

Sessions’s letter was addressed to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa), House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) and House Oversight Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) — each of whom has called on him to appoint a second special counsel. 

The legislators have raised numerous concerns — including the handling of the Clinton email investigation, alleged wrongdoing by the Clinton Foundation, the controversial sale of a uranium company to Russia and what some conservatives view as inappropriate surveillance of former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page.
 

Democrats view their concerns as unfounded, and part of a possible ploy to distract from the work of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, who Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein appointed to look into whether the Trump campaign coordinated with Russia to influence the 2016 presidential election. 

Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz already has been probing aspects of the Clinton email case, and he announced Wednesday he would review the surveillance of Page. Conservatives charge the surveillance was inappropriate and that to obtain the warrant that authorized it, the FBI used information from a former British intelligence officer who had been hired by an opposition research firm working for Hillary Clinton and the Democratic National Committee.

[Justice Dept. inspector general to review surveillance of former Trump campaign adviser]

 

Democrats argue that the warrant was obtained legally and with the approval of judges, who were relying on information far beyond the material provided by Christopher Steele, the intelligence officer.
 

Lawmakers reiterated their calls for a second special counsel even after Horowitz’s announcement, noting that the inspector general’s authority was limited in some respects.
 

“I welcome the announcement from the Inspector General’s office that it will investigate potential abuses of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and use of political opposition research to obtain a warrant to surveil a U.S. person. 

 

However, this is not a substitute for a Special Counsel to investigate this and other matters, including decisions made and not made by the Justice Department in 2016 and 2017, and evidence of bias by DOJ and FBI employees in charging decisions,” Goodlatte said Wednesday.
 

President Trump had previously been critical of Sessions relying merely on the inspector general to look into his party’s concerns, particularly with respect to Page.
 

“Why is A.G. Jeff Sessions asking the Inspector General to investigate potentially massive FISA abuse. Will take forever, has no prosecutorial power and already late with reports on Comey etc. Isn’t the I.G. an Obama guy? Why not use Justice Department lawyers? DISGRACEFUL!” he wrote on Twitter last month.

In his letter, Sessions seemed to defend the inspector general, noting he had “broad discretion and significant investigative powers,” and he could develop cases that he could refer elsewhere for prosecution or make his findings public — which regular criminal prosecutors might not be able to do.

Huber was first appointed as a U.S. attorney in Utah in the Obama administration, though Trump reappointed him last summer. Sessions wrote that he was working from outside of D.C. and in cooperation with Horowitz.

It is not unheard of for sitting U.S. attorneys to be asked to be asked to handle high-profile, Washington-centric investigations, though it has been done in different ways. Attorney General Eric Holder tapped two U.S. attorneys — including Rosenstein when he served in the role in Maryland — to lead high-profile leak investigations, and James B. Comey, when he was deputy attorney general, appointed then U.S. attorney Patrick Fitzgerald as a special counsel to look into who revealed the identity of a covert CIA officer. 

Karoun Demirjian contributed to this report.

Matt Zapotosky covers the Justice Department for The Washington Post's national security team. He has previously worked covering the federal courthouse in Alexandria and local law enforcement in Prince George's County and Southern Maryland.

Follow @mattzap

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