WH bats down calls for special prosecutor in Russia probe

White House press secretary Sean Spicer on Monday knocked down calls for a special prosecutor to investigate Russia’s attempts to meddle in the U.S. presidential election. 

At Monday’s White House briefing, ABC News reporter Jonathan Karl pointed to Rep. Darrell Issa’s (R-Calif.) recent remarks that Attorney General Jeff Sessions should step aside for a special prosecutor when it comes to matters related to President Trump.

“I guess my question would be: A special prosecutor for what?” Spicer said.

{mosads}“We have now for six months have heard story after story about unnamed sources say the same thing over and over again and nothing has come of it.”

Spicer noted that intelligence agencies and committees in the House and Senate are already probing Russian interference in the 2016 election, including hacking, which was believed to be aimed at helping Trump win.

He also pointed to Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) remarks Monday that he has seen no evidence that Trump aides had regular contact with Russian officials. Nunes is chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, which is investigating Russian election meddling as well as any ties between Trump campaign officials and Moscow.

“So the question becomes at some point, what do you need to further investigate if there is nothing that has come out?” Spicer said. “How many times do you have to come to the same conclusion before you take the answer?”

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) responded to Issa’s comments in a Sunday interview, saying that he thinks it’s too soon to call for using a special prosecutor to investigate.