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Sessions weighs using DOJ to attack Trump’s political rivals

The attorney general is considering appointing a separate special counsel to probe allegations surrounding Hillary Clinton and the Democrats, including the dealings of the Clinton Foundation and the Canadian mining company Uranium One.

Jeff Sessions is weighing using the Department of Justice to attack Donald Trump’s political opponents, a letter sent to congressional Republicans revealed Monday.

The document said the attorney general is considering appointing a separate special counsel to probe allegations surrounding Hillary Clinton and the Democrats, including the dealings of the Clinton Foundation and the Canadian mining company Uranium One.

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Assistant Attorney General Stephen Boyd replied to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, who, like President Trump, had called for Sessions to appoint a separate special counsel to investigate Republican allegations about the Democrats, the Washington Post reported.

Boyd’s letter said Sessions had “directed senior federal prosecutors to evaluate” issues raised in Goodlatte’s letters, who would evaluate whether to open investigations and appoint a special counsel.

READ: Paul Manafort indicted by Mueller’s probe

Ties between the Trump campaign and Russia are currently the subject of an investigation led by special counsel Robert Mueller.

After Mueller’s probe intensified last month, Trump chided his Justice Department for failing to investigate his political foes.

“Everybody is asking why the Justice Department (and FBI) isn’t looking into all of the dishonesty going on with Crooked Hillary & the Dems,” he tweeted on Nov 3.

“What about the deleted E-mails, Uranium, Podesta, the Server, plus, plus… People are angry. At some point the Justice Department, and the FBI, must do what is right and proper. The American public deserves it!”

Allegations by Goodlatte include claims that Russian figures sought to donate to the Clinton Foundation to encourage her support for the sale of uranium mining company Uranium One to Russia’s atomic energy agency in 2010 when Clinton was secretary of state.

Sessions is due to testify before Goodlatte’s committee Tuesday, where questions are expected on the issues outlined in Trump’s tweet.

Sessions has endured a strained relationship with Trump since he recused himself from the Russian collusion probe back in March – prompting Trump to say he would never have appointed the former Alabama senator if he’d known he planned to do so.

The president has lambasted Sessions on Twitter for adopting a “VERY weak position” on alleged wrongdoing by Clinton, and reports have emerged that he has discussed firing the attorney general.