It's not enough anymore for Attorney General Jeff Sessions to appoint a second special counsel to launch a baseless inquiry into Hillary Clinton. Special counsel Robert Mueller is getting too close, and Donald Trump needs more than a decoy investigation to divert attention away from the Russia probe. He needs a direct attack on that probe and that's what his lawyers are arguing for. The Guardian writes:
Donald Trump’s lawyers are calling for the appointment of a second special counsel to investigate the special counsel overseeing the federal inquiry into ties between the Trump campaign and Russia.
According to a report from Axios published early Tuesday, one of Trump’s lawyers, Jay Sekulow, has raised concerns over potential conflicts of interest within special counsel Robert Mueller’s team.
Sekulow issued the statement after Fox News reported that the wife of a senior justice department official had worked for Fusion GPS, the opposition research firm behind the the anti-Trump “dossier”, during the 2016 campaign.
This new push follows a steady drumbeat of Republican lawmakers and noisemakers attacking hte integrity of the Russia probe.
Trump and his team are also still intent on blaming Sessions for the White House's entire Russia predicament. Axios' Mike Allen writes:
President Trump's legal team believes Attorney General Jeff Session's Justice Department and the FBI — more than special counsel Robert Mueller himself — are to blame for what they see as a witch hunt.
Clearly Sessions isn't to blame for ultimately firing former FBI director James Comey, which resulted in the appointment of Mueller. But one does start to wonder what Sessions advised Trump to do on the matter, since both he and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein—who provided the rationale for the firing—consulted with Trump before he pulled the trigger on Comey's dismissal.
At some point, Sessions will be compelled by Mueller to answer that and all the other questions he’s avoided by claiming a reverse double back flip executive privilege that Trump himself still hasn’t declared.