As the dust settles following President Trump’s shocking decision to fire James Comey as FBI director, and the Russian investigation doesn’t magically disappear, there have been renewed calls for to appoint an independent special prosecutor to take control of the investigation between Trump associates and Russia.
Luckily, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who can’t wait to confirm the next FBI director, is here to clarify for everyone that an independent special prosecutor is actually the last thing anyone needs. Speaking in the Senate, McConnell, whose wife is Trump’s Secretary of Transportation, said that an independent prosecutor would only slow things down and get in the way of other investigations that are already happening:
“Today we’ll no doubt hear calls for a new investigation, which could only serve to impede the current work being done to not only discover what the Russians would have done but also to let this body and the national security community discover countermeasures and war-fighting doctrines to see that it doesn’t occur again.”
This morning, Schumer spoke again to reemphasize his comments — he is one of many calling for a special prosecutor — from last night.
Sen. Chuck Schumer: “If there was ever a time when circumstances warranted a special prosecutor, it is right now.” https://t.co/g7vNBIqpRi pic.twitter.com/PEkL2cXPUt
— CNN (@CNN) May 10, 2017
Ultimately, the decision won’t be made by McConnell or Senator Chuck Schumer. The decision to hire a special prosecutor is up to the Department of Justice in such an event that an investigation “would present a conflict of interest for the Department.” As the top two people at Justice have recused themselves from the Russia probe or recommended Comey be fired, it sure looks like there’s a conflict of interest for the department.
(Via PBS News Hour & CNN)