Wednesday, February 7, 2018

Why are some people suspicious of Attorney General Jeff Sessions' loyalty to President Trump?

The Justice Department led by Attorney General Jeff Sessions is investigating the crimes of the previous administration. It is well known that the Inspector General is looking into how the FBI whitewashed the Clinton e-mail scandal. But it has also been revealed that the Justice Department is investigating several other matters including the Uranium One scandal and the Clinton Foundation pay-for-play scandal. There are also reliable reports of investigations into the illegal spying on Americans (including Trump campaign workers), and leaks of classified information.

From Fox News:

(11/13/17) EXCLUSIVE – Attorney General Jeff Sessions directed senior federal prosecutors to evaluate “certain issues” requested by congressional Republicans, involving the sale of Uranium One and alleged unlawful dealings related to the Clinton Foundation, leaving the door open for an appointment of another special counsel.

In a letter first obtained by Fox News, the Justice Department responded to July 27 and September 26 requests from House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., and other committee members, who called for the appointment of a special counsel to investigate the matters in question.

...

'The Attorney General has directed senior federal prosecutors to evaluate certain issues raised in your letters,' Assistant Attorney General Stephen Boyd wrote."

(Sessions directs prosecutors to 'evaluate certain issues' involving Uranium One and Clinton, leaves door open on special counsel By Brooke Singman http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/11/13/justice-dept-won-t-rule-out-another-special-counsel-to-investigate-uranium-one-and-clinton.html)

From Sara Carter

(11/14/17) The Department of Justice (DOJ) has confirmed it has received multiple congressional referrals for investigations over the past year regarding the sale of twenty percent of the American uranium supply to Russia’s nuclear arm, as well as calls for investigations into allegations of pay-for-play regarding the Clinton Foundation, Circa has learned.

Multiple sources, including congressional officials, tell Circa that the requests sent to the Department of Justice over the past year have led to ongoing investigations, which they say also include investigations into the alleged leaking of classified information to the media and the improper unmasking of Americans.

(Congressional referrals sparked DOJ investigations like Uranium One and Clinton Foundation By Sara A Carter https://saraacarter.com/2017/11/14/congressional-referrals-sparked-doj-investigations-like-uranium-one-and-clinton-foundation/)

From The Washington Post:

(1/12/17) The Justice Department inspector general will review broad allegations of misconduct involving FBI Director James B. Comey and how he handled the probe of Hillary Clinton’s email practices, the inspector general announced Thursday.

(Justice Department inspector general to investigate pre-election actions by department and FBI By Matt Zapotosky and Sari Horwitz https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2017/01/12/justice-department-inspector-general-to-investigate-pre-election-actions-by-department-and-fbi/)

From: The Hill.com

(2/27/18) Attorney General Jeff Sessions said Tuesday that the Justice Department will investigate potential abuses of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).

(Sessions says DOJ will investigate alleged FISA abuses By Max Greenwood - 02/27/18
http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/375863-sessions-says-justice-dept-will-investigate-alleged-fisa-abuses)

From The United States Department of Justice:

The Division often receives questions about why it announces some, but not all, investigations. In general, the Department of Justice does not publicly announce investigations or investigative findings. There are several reasons for this policy. Announcing an investigation of some civil or criminal violations could make it more difficult to obtain witness cooperation or gather evidence. It also could result in the unfair identification of an individual as a person of interest to the federal government. The Department’s policy is described in the United States Attorneys Manual and regulations.

WHEN DOES THE DIVISION ANNOUNCE INVESTIGATIONS? https://www.justice.gov/crt/when-does-division-announce-investigations

Some people want a special council to be appointed to investigate these matters but a special council is needed only when there is conflict of interest. After the Inspector General releases his report would be the appropriate time to appoint a special council to investigate the FBI since it would be inappropriate for the FBI to investigate itself. For the other matters not involving FBI, the Justice Department, or the current Administration, there is no need for a special council.

The Justice Department is investigating the crimes of the previous administration, but some people are still suspicious of Sessions' loyalty to President Trump. However, this is understandable because Trump has publicly criticized Sessions several times:

“Sessions should have never recused himself, and if he was going to recuse himself, he should have told me before he took the job and I would have picked somebody else,” Citing Recusal, Trump Says He Wouldn’t Have Hired Sessions By Peter Baker, Michael S. Schmidt and Maggie Haberman, July 19, 2017 https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/07/19/us/politics/trump-interview-sessions-russia.html

"I told you before, I’m very disappointed with the attorney general. But we will see what happens," After attacking AG Jeff Sessions for failing to investigate Hillary Clinton, Trump won't say if he will fire him By David Jackson and Maureen Groppe, July 25, 2017 https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/07/25/trump-attacks-jeff-sessions-failing-investigate-hillary-clinton/507568001/

"President Donald Trump: A lot of bad things happened on the other side, not on this side but on the other side, and someone should look into it because what they did is really fraudulent, and somebody should be looking into that. And, by somebody, I’m talking about you know who."
- President Trump and Judge Jeanine Take a Jab at AG Sessions – The Absent AG (Video)
http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2018/02/president-trump-and-judge-janine-discuss-their-disapproval-with-ag-sessions-by-not-saying-anything-at-all/

Sara Carter has written an article outlining the pros and cons of a second special council.

The Case For and Against a Special Counsel Investigation of DOJ and FBI: Increasingly more Republicans are calling for special counsel, while DOJ argues for IG investigation Sara Carter March 5, 2018
https://saraacarter.com/the-case-for-and-against-a-special-counsel-investigation-of-doj-and-fbi/

Although the Inspector General of the Justice Department is investigating FISA Court abuses, there are witnesses outside the Department of Justice that the Inspector General would not have access to. For this reason Trey Gowdy and Bob Goodlatte have requested Jeff Sessions appoint a special council to investigate the matter.

Chairman Bob Goodlatte and Chairman Trey Gowdy Request DOJ Special Counsel… Posted on March 6, 2018 by sundance
https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2018/03/06/chairman-bob-goodlatte-and-chairman-trey-gowdy-request-doj-special-counsel/

“What changed for me was the knowledge that there are two dozen witnesses that Michael Horowitz, the [DOJ] Inspector General, would not have access to,” Gowdy said. “When I counted up 24 witnesses that he would not be able to access were he to investigate it, yeah only one conclusion, that’s special counsel.”

According to Sundance at theconservativetreehouse.com (3/16/18), Sessions has not appointed a special council because the DOJ Office of Special Council is hopelessly biased and politicized. Sessions has correctly appointed a DOJ prosecutor from outside of Washington D.C. to investigate the matters.
https://theconservativetreehouse.com/2018/03/16/former-fbi-deputy-director-i-think-youre-going-to-see-some-pure-tnt-come-out-in-this-ig-report/

Additionally, and somewhat related, it was pointed out earlier today there is a very valid reason for AG Jeff Sessions not to appoint a Special Counsel. A review of the ideology –as noted within the Office of Special Counsel communications unit– shows a clear bias against the current administration. A bias that is NOT evident within the public communication prior to the Trump administration. The OSC has strongly expressed political views.

It is beyond likely the federal agency known as The Office of Special Counsel is every bit as politicized as the DOJ and FBI officials they would be tasked with investigating. Take a look for yourself. Therefore what AG Jeff Sessions previously explained as the process he has undertaken -bringing in an ‘outside of DC‘ prosecutor- begins to make more sense, albeit frustratingly methodical.

AG Jeff Sessions revealed March 8th, in an interview with Shannon Bream, that he previously appointed a DOJ official to investigate the issues delivered by Chairman Bob Goodlatte (House Judiciary), prior to receiving the request for a Special Counsel from Chairman Goodlatte and Trey Gowdy.

Why AG Sessions declined to appoint a special counsel By Thomas Lifson, March 30, 2018
https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2018/03/why_ag_sessions_declined_to_appoint_a_special_counsel.html

First of all, while the IG cannot convene a grand jury and subpoena witnesses outside the DOJ’s employees, Huber can. And the IG can and does make criminal referrals. There is tremendous inside expertise on the DOJ resident in the IG’s organization, meaning that there is no start-up delay and no learning curve in getting to work on abuses. So, with the IG digging up information, and referring it to Huber, further steps, including subpoenas to former DOJ and FBI employees, such as Andrew McCabe and James Comey, can be taken before a grand jury in Utah. An indictments issued by that grand jury presumably could be tried before a federal jury in Utah, whereas a special counsel would most likely work with courts in the District of Columbia, Virginia, or Maryland, beltway strongholds. Which jury pool would you prefer? The District of Columbia or Utah?

Even more importantly, there is reason to believe that a lot of work already is underway by Huber and his staff.

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