Sessions considering appointing another special counsel to investigate Clinton Foundation

Attorney General Jeff Sessions. — (Image credit: Getty Images)

In a letter sent to the House Judiciary Committee on Monday, a senior Justice Department official announced that prosecutors are looking into whether they should appoint a special counsel to investigate the Clinton Foundation and former President Barack Obama letting Russia's nuclear power agency purchase a controlling stake in the Uranium One company.

The move comes 10 days after President Trump told reporters he is "really not involved with the Justice Department," but he thinks they "should be looking at the Democrats" because "a lot of people are disappointed in the Justice Department, including me." In his letter, Stephen Boyd, an assistant attorney general, said the 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 a special counsel."

Trump has been mad at Attorney General Jeff Sessions ever since he recused himself from the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election, setting up the appointment of Special Counsel Robert Mueller. People close to the White House told The New York Times that Sessions thinks if a special counsel is appointed to investigate the Uranium One deal, a talking point among some conservatives that is considered a non-scandal by those who have fact-checked it, he'll be back in Trump's good graces. During his confirmation hearing in January, Sessions said if there was ever any investigation into the Clinton Foundation, he would recuse himself.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.