http://thehill.com/policy/national-security/253901-top-dems-blast-call-for-special-counsel-on-clinton-emails By Julian Hattem - 09/16/15 05:04 PM EDT
The top Democrats on the Senate Intelligence and Judiciary Committees are railing against a Republican call for the Justice Department to appoint a special counsel to probe Hillary Clinton’s “home brew” email setup.
In separate statements on Wednesday, Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) said that the call from No. 2 Senate Republican John Cornyn (Texas) would be merely a politically motivated waste of taxpayer dollars.
“The State Department — in coordination with the intelligence community — is already reviewing Secretary Clinton’s emails for public release,” Feinstein said in her statement.
“Instead of wasting more taxpayer dollars, the process in place to review and release Secretary Clinton’s emails, which she has welcomed, should be allowed to continue,” she added. “Calls for a special counsel are purely political and completely unnecessary.”
Leahy, meanwhile pointed out that the department has yet to indicate that a criminal investigation has even been launched, even though the FBI has taken control of her server.
“I do not question the integrity or ability of Attorney General [Loretta] Lynch or FBI Director [James] Comey — and certainly do not see any conflict or extraordinary circumstances that would warrant a special counsel,” he said in a statement shared with The Hill. “Such a suggestion is nothing more than yet another political ploy that would compound the growing pile of taxpayer dollars that already has been wasted on this politically motivated quest.”
Feinstein is the vice chairwoman of the Intelligence Committee, and Leahy is the ranking member of the Judiciary panel.
The statements follow on Cornyn’s request on Tuesday that Lynch appoint a special counsel for Clinton’s emails, given the “extraordinary circumstances” surrounding her use of a personal email address and private server while servering as secretary of State.
“Americans deserve the assurance that justice — and justice alone — is being pursued,” Cornyn wrote in his letter.
The bickering comes as part of a larger change in tune for Senate Republicans, who had largely been silent on the growing scrutiny on Clinton’s email use.
GOP members of the House Committee investigating the 2012 attack in Benghazi, Libya, had previously been the Capitol’s main attack dogs for Clinton, but Senate Republicans have started to elbow their way into the debate. In addition to Cornyn, Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Homeland Security head Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) have also waded into the firestorm of Clinton’s emails.
The jostling is only likely to intensify in coming weeks and months, as the race for the White House enters a higher gear.
