Summary: On Monday, Attorney General Jeff Sessions said that he may pursue an investigation into the Clinton Foundation.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions is considering appointing a special counsel to investigate the Clinton Foundation. This announcement came on Monday, almost two weeks after President Donald Trump tweeted, “Everybody is asking why the Justice Department (and FBI) isn’t looking into all of the dishonesty going on with Crooked Hillary & the Dems,” according to CNN.
Sessions’ special counsel will look into the relationship between the Clinton Foundation and the sale of Uranium One.
“The Obama-era sale of the Canadian uranium mining company to Russia’s Atomic Energy Agency, Rosatom, is already being investigated by House Republicans. The deal was approved in 2010, when Hillary Clinton was secretary of state. Although the claims have not been proven, some Republicans, including President Donald Trump, have alleged that Russian interests sought to donate to the Clinton Foundation to persuade Clinton to support the deal,” CNN wrote.
The possible Clinton investigation is a response to two requests from House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va). Goodlatte had asked for a probe in July and September, according to The Washington Post.
Today, Sessions has spent the day being grilled in a congressional hearing, and several congressmen have asked the Attorney General whether or not he has been taking orders from President Trump, something he and the DOJ are not supposed to do.
Although Sessions has denied being influenced by Trump, his announcement to investigate Hillary Clinton comes after Trump has publicly expressed his disapproval about Sessions’ role as Attorney General. The two men’s relationship strained after the former Alabama senator recused himself from the DOJ’s investigation into Trump’s ties with Russia and how Russia may have influenced the 2016 presidential election.
The list of matters Sessions may possibly probe also include Clinton’s private emails. This investigation is one that Trump supporters have been demanding and was one of Trump’s biggest campaign promises.
On Monday, Assistant Attorney General Stephen Boyd wrote to House Judiciary Chairman Goodlatte, “The attorney general has directed senior federal prosecutors to evaluate certain issues raised in your letters. 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.”
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