Attorney General Jeff Sessions rejected House Republicans' call for a second special counsel to investigate the FBI's handling of the Hillary Clinton email probe and the Justice Department's approval of a FISA warrant to surveil Carter Page.
Speaking to a U.S. House appropriations panel during a routine budget hearing, Sessions told lawmakers that the Justice Department needed to “be disciplined and stay within our classical procedure and rules” before rushing to hire more special counsels.
“I do not think we need to willy-nilly appoint special counsels,” he said, after listening to a laundry list of frustrations aired by West Virginia Republican Congressman Evan Jenkins.
“As we can see, it can really take on a life of its own.”
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Republicans frustrated by the Mueller probe have since launched investigations into other matters such as the FBI’s handling of the Hillary Clinton email investigation and whether the Justice Department committed abuses when it applied to a special court for a warrant to conduct surveillance on Carter Page, a former Trump national security campaign adviser.
In response to those concerns, Sessions asked U.S. Attorney John Huber of the District of Utah to independently review the issues, rather than hiring a special prosecutor.
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On Thursday, Sessions staunchly defended the FBI, calling its director, Christopher Wray a “man of integrity,” and warned lawmakers not to “smear everybody” at the department.
U.S. Attorney General Sessions says Mueller probe has taken on 'life of its own' (Reuters)