President Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions have a new complication in their historically contentious relationship: The decision by Sessions not to appoint a second special counsel to investigate conservative allegations of abuse at the Justice Department.
Sessions on Thursday notified key lawmakers on Capitol Hill that he has tapped Utah’s top prosecutor, John Huber, to coordinate with the department’s inspector general — but he stopped short of ceding to demands for a new special counsel, at least for now.
The announcement was a disappointment to some Trump allies in Congress who have clamored for the appointment.
“I disagree with the attorney general,” said Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), a lawmaker who frequently talks to Trump. “The Justice Department is not complying with the subpoena and oversight responsibility we have in Congress, so for the attorney general to say there’s not enough there is extremely disappointing.”
The White House itself did not comment on the Sessions decision, however, nor did Trump.
And key lawmakers on Capitol Hill who have formally requested a second special counsel — such as House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) and House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) — instead chose to focus on the appointment of Huber, calling the move “encouraging.”
Still, the news will do little to dim speculation that Trump may fire the attorney general, whom he has publicly mocked, criticized and pressured over his handling of the department. Trump was enraged by Sessions’s decision to recuse himself from the Russia investigation last spring, an act he saw as a betrayal, and Washington has been on watch for the attorney general’s dismissal for a year.
Trump has berated Sessions for giving responsibility for investigation into the myriad allegations to the Justice Department inspector general, calling it “disgraceful” in a recent tweet.
“No matter what happens, Trump is furious at Sessions” over his recusal, said Ford O’Connell, a Republican strategist and political analyst. “And Trump will not be satisfied until a second special counsel is convened.”
The decision also comes as Sessions is featured on the cover of Time magazine — an honor that sat uneasily with the president when previously bestowed on staff members.
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Sessions not appointing second special counsel adds new complication in relationship with Trump https://t.co/M6L0ZJavCz pic.twitter.com/2tjh4q5E3G
— The Hill (@thehill) March 31, 2018
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