Cornyn renews calls for special counsel in Clinton email probe

The Texas Republican said the sparks that flew last week during the House Select Committee on Benghazi’s interview with Clinton were a “distraction.”

“I have confidence the FBI will not make a political call here, but will follow the facts where they may lead,” Cornyn said Monday during an appearance on Fox News’ “America’s Newsroom.” “The reason I called for a special counsel is because I don’t have the same confidence in the attorney general, who’s a political appointee of the president.”

Cornyn first began pushing for a special counsel in September, when news of the deepening FBI probe was still fresh on the public’s mind. That investigation has taken a back seat to the select committee’s public probe, which handed Clinton a widely-perceived victory last week when she avoided any major gaffes during a hearing before the panel.

“It’s important to have public hearings,” Cornyn said. “That hearing was more of a distraction, I think, in the pursuit of the facts because Secretary Clinton simply didn’t answer a lot of the questions, and her whole goal was to try to make this look political, which it’s not.”

The Senate majority whip said the Justice Department has yet to deny his request for an independent counsel.

“The interesting thing is, Bill, I got a letter back from the Department of Justice,” Cornyn told host Bill Hemmer. “They didn’t say yes, they didn’t say no. I think they’re keeping their options open pending what the FBI comes up with.”

Clinton’s team has repeatedly denied suggestions that the FBI investigation is criminal in nature, emphasizing the fact that Clinton herself is not the target.

But FBI agents were reportedly angered earlier this month when President Obama stated in a televised interview that Clinton did not put national security at risk with her email server, undermining the purpose of the investigation. The White House was then forced to walk those comments back.