GOP Reps. Goodlatte & Gowdy say they are encouraged by Huber appointment
WASHINGTON – The chairs of the House Judiciary Committee and the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee said even though they would prefer the appointment of a special counsel to investigate potential DoJ abuses they are nevertheless pleased with the appointment of a U.S. attorney.
“While we continue to believe the appointment of a second Special Counsel is necessary, this is a step in the right direction,” Reps. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) and Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) said in a joint statementon Thursday evening. “We expect that U.S. Attorney Huber, given his reputation, will conduct an independent and thorough investigation. Such an investigation is critical to restoring the reputation of both the Bureau and DOJ in the eyes of the American people.”
On Thursday, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced in a letter to congressional Republicans that he appointed Utah U.S. Attorney John W. Huber to review the department’s handling of the Trump-Russia probe and alleged connections between the Clinton Foundation and an Obama-era uranium deal with Russia.
Last year, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appointed former FBI Director Robert Mueller III as special counsel in the investigation into potential collusion between members of the Trump campaign and Russian officials. Sessions recused himself from the probe following reports that he had twice met with the Russian ambassador during the campaign.
Many Republicans claim the FBI and DoJ have demonstrated bias against the Trump administration and that Hillary Clinton was given special treatment during the investigation into her use of private email server while Secretary of State.
A major point of contention in the request for a review centers around alleged abuses of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).
This article is republished with permission from Talk Media News
Bryan is an award-winning political journalist who has extensive experience covering Congress and Maryland state government.
His work includes coverage of the election of Donald Trump, the confirmation hearings of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh and attorneys general William Barr and Jeff Sessions-as well as that of the Maryland General Assembly, Gov. Larry Hogan, and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bryan has broken stories involving athletic and sexual assault scandals with the Baltimore Post-Examiner.
His original UMBC investigation gained international attention, was featured in People Magazine and he was interviewed by ABC’s “Good Morning America” and local radio stations. Bryan broke subsequent stories documenting UMBC’s omission of a sexual assault on their daily crime log and a federal investigation related to the university’s handling of an alleged sexual assault.