Cornyn Reiterates Call for Special Counsel to Oversee Clinton Email Investigation
Yesterday I reiterated my call for Attorney General Loretta Lynch to appoint a special counsel to oversee the investigation into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s use of an unsecured, private email server.
Back in October, I stood on the floor of the United States Senate and outlined concerns that I had about the evolving scandal involving Secretary Clinton's use of a private, unsecured email server during her service as Secretary of State.
Because of the conflict of interest by asking Attorney General Lynch to investigate and perhaps even prosecute somebody in the Obama Administration, I called upon the Department of Justice and the Attorney General in particular to appoint a special counsel to investigate the matter.
The Obama Administration has demonstrated time and time again precisely why we need the decision making in this case as far removed from White House politics as it can possibly be.
On Friday ... it was widely reported for the first time that the State Department admitted that it had categorized at least 22 emails found on Secretary Clinton's server as Top Secret.
Given these reports, President Obama's press secretary, his chief spokesman Josh Earnest, was asked about the status of the investigation.
He said, and I quote… an indictment "Does not seem to be the direction in which it is trending."
Either the White House has information that they should not have about the status of this ongoing criminal investigation by the FBI, or they're sending a signal to the FBI and the Department of Justice that they want this to go away.
That, Mr. President, is completely inappropriate. It is outrageous. And it's got to stop.
So yesterday I was back on the Senate floor where I started months ago to make the very same point but with a greater sense of urgency and with a lot of new information that's come to light.”
In light of the unprecedented nature of the case and the multiple conflicts presented to the Department of Justice, I can see no other appropriate course of action than for Attorney General Loretta Lynch to appoint a special counsel.
If the U.S. government, including Congress and the Administration, are going to regain the trust and confidence of the American people, they need to know that… there isn't a separate set of rules for high government officials like a Secretary of State and then you and me.