Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley critiqued his Democratic colleagues for calling for a special counsel to investigate possible ties between the Trump administration and the Russian government, saying Democrats were getting ahead of themselves.
“Any talk of a special counsel is premature at best,” Grassley said Tuesday morning at a nomination hearing for deputy attorney general and assistant attorney general.
If confirmed to be deputy attorney general, Rod Rosenstein would be in charge of the Justice Department’s investigation into Russia’s involvement in the election, unless a special prosecutor is appointed.
Grassley said Rosenstein’s “independence is beyond reproach.”
The Iowa Republican then took shots at Democrats’ calls for a special counsel, noting their “selective nature.”
“Where were these calls from the other side when Attorney General Lynch was overseeing the Clinton investigation? Attorney General Lynch had been appointed by President Clinton to be a U.S. attorney; her law firm had represented the Clintons. Her ability to continue in her job as attorney general depended on a Clinton victory in the election,” Grassley explained.
“And she had a private meeting with Bill Clinton on her government airplane while the department was investigating Secretary [Hillary] Clinton. Where were the calls from Democratic leadership for a special counsel then?”
Rosenstein takes over the Russia investigation after Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself last week. The recusal came after he failed to disclose meeting with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak during the 2016 presidential campaign. He does however have the ability to appoint a special counsel.
