House Republicans renew call for 2nd special counsel, amid fresh Comey concernsFox News, Sep 26, 2017, Judson Berger
House Republicans on Tuesday formally renewed their call for a second special counsel to probe 2016 controversies involving Hillary Clinton and the Obama administration – following allegations that former FBI director James Comey drafted an “exoneration statement” for Clinton weeks before interviewing her.
Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee, who first called for a second special counsel's appointment in July, cited several factors in a letter Tuesday to Attorney General Jeff Sessions and his deputy, Rod Rosenstein.
“In this case, it appears that Director Comey and other senior Justice Department and government officials may have pre-judged the ‘matter’ before all the facts were known, thereby ensuring former Secretary Clinton would not be charged for her criminal activity,” they wrote.
Foremost was the allegation – which emerged in transcripts of FBI staffer interviews conducted by the Office of Special Counsel – that the former FBI boss drafted a statement clearing Clinton in her personal email case weeks before interviewing her and making his public recommendation against criminal charges.
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Further, they complained that Comey did not record interviews with Clinton and other close associates, despite Justice Department policy encouraging the practice.
“This is truly inexplicable, given that the case was of keen national interest and importance,” they wrote, adding: “It only reinforces the sense that our nation’s top law enforcement officials conspired to sweep the Clinton ‘matter’ under the rug, and that there is, truly, one system for the powerful and politically well-connected, and another for everyone else.”
The lawmakers want an entirely separate special counsel probe from the one Robert Mueller is leading into Russian meddling in the 2016 election and possible coordination with Trump associates. The crux of their argument is that numerous unanswered questions remain from the 2016 campaign cycle that have been pushed aside amid the intense Russia focus.
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