Attorney General Jeff Sessions may have declined calls to appoint a second special counsel to investigate the FBI’s behavior during the 2016 campaign, but the man he has picked to lead an internal Justice Department review is a special counsel in every way but name.
John W. Huber, the U.S. attorney in Utah, can convene a grand jury, issue subpoenas, collect evidence and order witnesses to testify — all the usual powers a federal prosecutor has — as he delves into whether the FBI abused its powers when it sought permission and then carried out wiretapping of a Trump campaign figure, or whether it trod too lightly in pursuing questions about Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
Mr. Sessions said the facts of the FBI situation don’t yet rise to the level of demanding a special counsel, but Mr. Huber is as close as can be.
“He will have the full authority of a federal prosecutor,” said Richard Painter, former chief ethics attorney for President George W. Bush. “If he looks at this and finds someone in the DOJ lied to a government official, he would be able to convene a grand jury, compel testimony and even prosecute them.”
By appointing an active federal prosecutor — in this case one first nominated by President Obama and kept on by President Trump — Mr. Sessions also may deflect criticism that the review is a partisan attempt to undermine the other special counsel, Robert Mueller, who is investigating the Trump campaign’s interactions with Russia in 2016. – READ MORE
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