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POLITICS

Justice
Dept.
to
Weigh
Inquiry
Into
Clinton
Foundation
By MICHAEL S. SCHMIDT and MAGGIE HABERMAN NOV. 13, 2017
WASHINGTON The Justice Department said Monday that prosecutors were
looking into whether a special counsel should be appointed to investigate political
rivals President Trump has called on to be scrutinized, including Hillary Clinton.

The department, in a letter sent to the House Judiciary Committee, said the
prosecutors would examine allegations that donations to the Clinton Foundation
were tied to a 2010 decision by the Obama administration to allow a Russian
nuclear agency to purchase Uranium One, a company that owned access to
uranium in the United States, and other matters.

If prosecutors do appoint a special counsel, it could raise questions about the

independence of federal investigations under Mr. Trump.

Since Watergate, the Justice Department has largely operated independently

of political influence on cases related to the presidents opponents. But the
disclosure appeared to be a direct response to Mr. Trumps statements on Nov. 3,
when he said he was disappointed with his beleaguered attorney general, Jeff
Sessions, and that longstanding unproven allegations about the Clintons and the
Obama administration should be investigated.

Mr. Trumps statement galvanized conservative news outlets like Fox News
and Breitbart News which have since beaten the drum for a special prosecutor to
be appointed.

Mr. Trump blames Mr. Sessions for the cloud of the Russia investigation that has
hovered over his 10 month presidency, saying that if Mr. Sessions had never
recused himself from the inquiry earlier this year the special counsel, Robert S.
Mueller III, would never have been appointed.

On Tuesday, Mr. Sessions is scheduled to testify before the House Judiciary

Committee, where he is expected to be questioned sharply by both Republicans
and Democrats. The letter was sent in response to formal requests from
congressional Republicans for a Justice Department inquiry into various Clinton-
related issues. But people close to the White House said there might be another
issue at play: Mr. Sessions might be able to forestall the president firing him by
appointing a special counsel to investigate the uranium deal.

Although Mr. Sessions has recused himself from all matters relating to the
election, he and the deputy attorney general, Rod J. Rosenstein, will oversee the
prosecutors decision to appoint the special counsel, the letter said.

These senior prosecutors will report directly to the attorney general and the
deputy attorney general, as appropriate, and will make recommendations as to
whether any matters not currently under investigation should be opened, whether
any matters currently under investigation require further resources, or whether
any matters merit a special counsel, said Stephen E. Boyd, an assistant attorney
general, in the letter to the House Judiciary Committee.

Republicans have long tried to link Mrs. Clinton to the uranium deal, which
was revealed in the run-up to her 2016 presidential campaign. The deal was
approved by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States when she
was secretary of state under President Barack Obama and had a voting seat on the
panel.

Conservative news outlets have kept the story line alive and pushed the pushed
allegations, as part of an ongoing narrative that the Clintons are corrupt. They
claim Mrs. Clinton was part of a quid pro quo in which the Clinton Foundation
received large donations in exchange for support of the deal.

As the special counsels investigation into Mr. Trump and his associates has
intensified in recent weeks, Mr. Trump has asked allies and advisers why Mr.
Mueller is not investigating the Uranium One case, according to a person familiar
with the presidents discussions on the matter.

The allies and advisers have told Mr. Trump that Mr. Muellers purview is only
to look into Russian interference in the 2016 election, the person said. In response,
Mr. Trump has protested that Uranium One also relates to Russia.

However, White House officials in recent days have played down questions
about whether the president or his immediate advisers were seeking a new special
counsel.

It was before leaving for a 12-day trip to Asia this month that Mr. Trump
publicly vented about how the Justice Department had operated under Mr.
Sessions.

Im really not involved with the Justice Department, Mr. Trump told
reporters. Id like to let it run itself.

But, honestly, they should be looking at the Democrats, Mr. Trump said,
adding, And a lot of people are disappointed in the Justice Department, including
me.

Mr. Trump has been repeatedly criticized for trying to intervene in the Justice
Departments investigations since he took office.

In May, it was revealed that Mr. Trump had asked James B. Comey, then the
F.B.I. director, to end the investigation into Mr. Trumps former national security
adviser a disclosure that led to the appointment of Mr. Mueller. Mr. Trump has
repeatedly criticized Mr. Muellers investigation which has intensified in recent
 weeks as three Trump campaign members were charged as a witch hunt.

Mr. Trump, who closely monitors the conservative news media ecosystem for
ideas on how to attack his opponents, has cited reports from those outlets to aides
and friends as examples for why a special counsel should be appointed.

One commentator in particular, the Fox News host Jeanine Pirro who is a
friend of Mr. Trumps and whose show he rarely misses has aggressively
denounced Mr. Sessions as weak for not investigating the uranium deal. In
addition to making scathing critiques on her show, Ms. Pirro, who had
interviewed to be the deputy attorney general, according to three transition
officials recently met with the president to excoriate the attorney general.

In an Oval Office meeting on Nov. 1, Ms. Pirro said that a special counsel
needed to be appointed, according to two people briefed on the discussion.
Through a Fox News spokeswoman, Jeanine Pirro said, Everything I said to
President Trump is exactly what Ive vocalized on my show, Justice with Jeanine.

After his victory last November, Mr. Trump struck a far different tone on
prosecuting Mrs. Clinton.

Look, I want to move forward, I dont want to move back, Mr. Trump said in
an interview with The New York Times. And I dont want to hurt the Clintons. I
really dont.

She went through a lot. And suffered greatly in many different ways. And I
am not looking to hurt them at all, he said. The campaign was vicious. They say it
was the most vicious primary and the most vicious campaign. I guess, added
together, it was definitely the most vicious; probably, I assume you sold a lot of
newspapers.

Michael S. Schmidt reported from Washington, and Maggie Haberman from New York.

A version of this article appears in print on November 14, 2017, on Page A1 of the New York edition with the
headline: U.S. to Consider Special Counsel In Uranium Deal.

2017 The New York Times Company