US Justice Department mulls 2nd Special Counsel

Washington, Nov 14 (IANS) The Justice Department is looking into the appointment of a second Special Counsel to probe a host of Republican concerns, including alleged wrongdoing by the Clinton Foundation and the sale of a uranium company to Russia, media reports said.

The department, in a letter sent to the House Judiciary Committee on Monday, said the prosecutors would examine the FBI's handling of the investigation into Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server and allegations that donations to the Clinton Foundation were tied to a 2010 decision by former President Barack Obama's administration to allow a Russian nuclear agency to buy Uranium One, a Canadian mining company that owned access to uranium in the US, reports The Washington Post.

The letter comes after an inquiry from House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, who in July and again in September called for Attorney General Jeff Sessions to appoint a second special counsel to investigate concerns he had related to the 2016 election and its aftermath.

In response, Assistant Attorney General Stephen E. Boyd wrote that Sessions had "directed senior federal prosecutors to evaluate certain issues (you) raised".

Those prosecutors would "report directly to the Attorney General and 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 the appointment of a Special Counsel".

Trump has repeatedly criticised the Justice Department for not aggressively probing a variety of conservative concerns.

On November 3, the President said he was disappointed with his "beleaguered" Attorney General and that longstanding unproven allegations about the Clintons and the Obama administration should be investigated, reports The New York Times.

Trump also blames Sessions for the cloud of the Russia investigation that has hovered over his 10-month presidency, saying that if Sessions had never recused himself from the inquiry this year, then Special Counsel Robert Mueller would never have been appointed.

On Tuesday, Sessions will testify before the House Judiciary Committee, where he is expected to be questioned sharply by both Republicans and Democrats.