Sessions: Mueller probe has taken on ‘life of its own’

Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Thursday defended his decision not to appoint a second special counsel to investigate alleged bias in the Justice Department, saying the current probe into Russia’s election meddling has already taken “on a life of its own.”

Asked by a House Appropriations panel about GOP accusations of surveillance abuse, Sessions told lawmakers that the Robert Mueller probe proved that it was a bad idea to appoint special counsels “willy-nilly.”

{mosads}“I do not think we need to willy-nilly appoint special counsels,” Sessions said. “As we can see, it can really take on a life of its own.”

He added that the Department of Justice (DOJ) needs to “be disciplined and stay within our classical procedure and rules” before opening further investigations.

The remarks came the same day that the Senate Judiciary Committee approved legislation to protect Mueller from a possible firing attempt by President Trump. Democrats and some Republicans have become increasingly concerned that Trump will seek to fire Mueller, whose probe he has dismissed as a “hoax” and a “witch hunt.”

Republicans have been clamoring for weeks for the appointment of a second special counsel to probe the FBI’s handling of both the investigation into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia and the investigation into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s private email server.

GOP lawmakers have argued that both investigations were marked by instances in which FBI agents displayed personal bias against Trump and for Clinton.

Sessions announced in March that he would not approve the appointment of a second special counsel, but instead named a federal prosecutor from Utah, John Huber, to lead the investigation into Republicans’ allegations that the FBI and DOJ abused a surveillance program against a former Trump campaign aide.

The chairmen of the House Oversight and Government Reform and House Judiciary committees, Reps. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) and Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), respectively, applauded the move, but continued their calls for a second special counsel to investigate supposed misconduct.

“While we continue to believe the appointment of a second Special Counsel is necessary, this is a step in the right direction. We expect that U.S. Attorney Huber, given his reputation, will conduct an independent and thorough investigation,” the two chairmen said in a statement last month.

“Such an investigation is critical to restoring the reputation of both the Bureau and DOJ in the eyes of the American people,” they added.