As momentum builds for Jeff Sessions to appoint a second Special Counsel to investigate potential surveillance abuse by the Obama administration, the law-and-order attorney general faces a dilemma: How to launch a wide-ranging probe in the mold of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into the Trump campaign and Russia, when federal regulations provide for only a narrow and limited use of a special counsel.
The pressure on Sessions escalated last week when Bob Goodlatte, who chairs the House Judiciary Committee, and Trey Gowdy, who chairs the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, sent him a joint-letter requesting he appoint a special counsel.
Trump called the move "Disgraceful," and 13 congressmen led by Republican Rep. Lee Zeldin requested Sessions appoint a special counsel instead. The Zeldin letter also requested an expansive investigation into "Decisions and activities" by leaders of the Justice Department and FBI regarding how and why the Hillary Clinton email probe ended, and how and why the Trump-Russia probe began.
In response to the second March letter, he acknowledged he was "Seriously" weighing the possibility of appointing a second special counsel to investigate the Obama administration according to their concerns.
As Sessions weighs this possibility he faces a difficulty: Republicans seek a special prosecutor to conduct a wide-ranging investigation into Democrat misconduct, but federal regulations allow for the appointment of a special counsel in limited circumstances.
If the Democrats want to avoid the drama destined to descend on D.C. with the appointment of a second special counsel, they would be wise to preempt Session's decision and propose the McCarthy solution.
They better act quickly, because Sessions has said he is "Seriously" considering appointing a second special counsel, and has already appointed a Washington outsider with "Many years in the Department of Justice" to look into the concerns outlined in the Goodlatte, Gowdy letter.
http://thefederalist.com/2018/03/16/heres-the-dilemma-jeff-sessions-faces-as-he-considers-appointing-a-special-counsel/
The pressure on Sessions escalated last week when Bob Goodlatte, who chairs the House Judiciary Committee, and Trey Gowdy, who chairs the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, sent him a joint-letter requesting he appoint a special counsel.
Trump called the move "Disgraceful," and 13 congressmen led by Republican Rep. Lee Zeldin requested Sessions appoint a special counsel instead. The Zeldin letter also requested an expansive investigation into "Decisions and activities" by leaders of the Justice Department and FBI regarding how and why the Hillary Clinton email probe ended, and how and why the Trump-Russia probe began.
In response to the second March letter, he acknowledged he was "Seriously" weighing the possibility of appointing a second special counsel to investigate the Obama administration according to their concerns.
As Sessions weighs this possibility he faces a difficulty: Republicans seek a special prosecutor to conduct a wide-ranging investigation into Democrat misconduct, but federal regulations allow for the appointment of a special counsel in limited circumstances.
If the Democrats want to avoid the drama destined to descend on D.C. with the appointment of a second special counsel, they would be wise to preempt Session's decision and propose the McCarthy solution.
They better act quickly, because Sessions has said he is "Seriously" considering appointing a second special counsel, and has already appointed a Washington outsider with "Many years in the Department of Justice" to look into the concerns outlined in the Goodlatte, Gowdy letter.
http://thefederalist.com/2018/03/16/heres-the-dilemma-jeff-sessions-faces-as-he-considers-appointing-a-special-counsel/
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