Attorney General Jeff Sessions offered testimony to lawmakers on Capitol Hill Tuesday, where he pushed back on requests to immediately appoint a special counsel to investigate Hillary Clinton and the Clinton Foundation, saying said the Department of Justice (DOJ) still needs to “study what the facts are” before taking action.
“I would say ‘looks like’ is not enough basis to appoint a special counsel,” Sessions told Ohio-Republican Rep. Jim Jordan at the House Judiciary Committee when he was asked why the DOJ has yet to appoint special counsel when it “looks like” wrongdoing took place.
Sessions, however, did not, rule out that a special counsel could be appointed should the proper standards were met.
The DOJ also confirmed it was contemplating a probe into the foundation of former president Bill Clinton and its ties to companies involved selling US uranium rights to a Russian state company.
While he did not have an immediate decision, Sessions promised the committee he would decide quickly whether or not to take account.
“Do I have your assurance that these matters will proceed fairly and expeditiously?” Goodlatte inquired.
“Yes, you can, Mr. Chairman, and you can be sure that they will be done without political influence and they will be done correctly and properly,” Sessions answered. “We will make only decisions that are right and just and not going to use the department to unlawfully advance political agenda.”
Trump has repeatedly criticized his Justice Department for not aggressively investigating Clinton. He said recently officials there “should be looking at the Democrats and that it was “very discouraging” they were not “going after Hillary Clinton.” He also went on record saying the “saddest thing is that because I’m the president of the United States, I am not supposed to be involved with the Justice Department. I am not supposed to be involved with the FBI.”