We have raised this question before…more than once in the last several weeks:
WHERE IS JOHN HUBER AND THE DOJ INSPECTOR GENERAL?
LATE BREAKING! Tuesday night on Hannity, we heard for the first time since Sessions announced his appointment in late March, a reference to Utah federal prosecutor, John Huber. Sara Carter, a very good political reporter noted that there has been no mention whatever, of any progress Mr. Huber has made in his “investigation”. This is the first reference to Mr. Huber we have heard or read…from anyone, including conservative pundits, Mr. Sessions, or anyone in the media.
A brief recap:
– Huber was assigned by AG Sessions to look into the full range of FBI miscues, including its handling of the Hillary email scandal, Uranium One, FISA abuse, FBI bias toward the Trump campaign, etc, etc, last November!
– Huber was identified as the federal prosecutor Sessions assigned only late this past March!
– Huber was to provide “prosecutorial clout” to the DOJ Inspector General’s probe of those issues…and to dampen calls by congressional Republicans for a Special Counsel;
— White House officials see Huber as a second special counsel in everything but name because he has the authority to prosecute, a task the inspector general has to refer to a U.S. attorney. One former senior Justice Department official, however, called the appointment “window dressing … more aimed at placating Congress than anything else.”
– Sessions has claimed to “receive regular updates from Mr. Huber…” yet no one has heard any hint of what those “updates” have revealed
-Sessions also said that Huber is “working in cooperation with Inspector General Michael Horowitz…”; To us that inspires another question:”Speaking of the Inspector General, WHERE IS HE?” Nothing has been heard from the IG about his vaunted ‘investigation’; apparently Horowitz is waiting until after the mid-term elections…so that his findings don’t interfere with Special Counsel Mueller’s ‘heroic’ efforts to erode support for Trump in the mid-terms?! Hmmm? DLH
————————————————-
With mid-term elections looming and Bob Mueller’s ‘inquisition’ proceeding apace, what has happened to the IG’s investigation into the FBI’s handling of the Hillary Clinton email probe?
Further, where is Utah federal prosecutor John Huber, Attorney General Sessions’ hand-picked guy to work with the IG in a de facto role of Special Counsel?
Huber was not named as a Special Counsel as key GOP congressmen were demanding , to look into the whole Hillary mess. Rather Huber was named by Seessions to reduce the pressure from those GOP congressmen.
It was in late March (2018) that Sessions revealed the identity of the federal prosecutor which he had earlier indicated he had assigned to work on the case since November, 2017.
According to a CNN report in March, Huber has been looking into allegations that the FBI abused its powers in surveilling a former Trump campaign adviser. Huber was also looking into the questions of FISA abuse and of whether more should have been done to investigate Hillary Clinton’s ties to a Russian nuclear energy agency (which is now well known as “Uranium One”). Sessions assured the congressional Republicans who were demanding the naming of a special counsel not to worry, that they, like himself, can rely on Mr. Huber’s recommendations whether a special counsel is necessary:
“I am confident that Mr. Huber’s review will include a full, complete and objective evaluation of these matters in a manner that is consistent with the law and facts,” Sessions wrote. “I receive regular updates from Mr. Huber and upon the conclusion of his review, will receive his 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 the appointment of a special counsel.” (He said that in later March.)
Huber was appointed federal prosecutor by President Obama in 2015. He resigned after President Trump took office, but was reappointed by Trump shortly thereafter at the behest of Utah Senator Orrin Hatch.
Also included in the CNN report March 29, the following:
“Sessions in November managed to deflect from making a decision on whether to formally appoint a special counsel by saying he had directed “senior federal prosecutors” to examine the Clinton-related issues, who would then “make recommendations as to whether any matters not currently under investigation should be opened” and “whether any matters merit the appointment of a special counsel.” He later referred to an unnamed “person outside of Washington” with “many years in the Department of Justice” who was examining the allegations.
“But a steady cascade of revelations this year have intensified the GOP pressure on Sessions to act — including news that top FBI officials involved in the Clinton private email server probe and Russia investigation exchanged text messages disparaging Trump, as well as that a Justice Department official failed to disclose his contacts with the former British intelligence officer who assembled the controversial dossier on Trump and Russia, and finally, that a House Intelligence Committee memo that alleged the FBI failed to adequately inform the judge who approved a surveillance warrant on Page relied, in part, on opposition research funded in part by the Democratic National Committee and Clinton’s campaign.
“We do not believe the Department of Justice is capable of investigating and evaluating these fact patterns in a fashion likely to garner public confidence,” House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte of Virginia and House Oversight Chairman Trey Gowdy of South Carolina wrote in a letter to Sessions earlier this month. “[T]he public interest requires the appointment of a special counsel.”
“In response, Sessions tapped Inspector General Michael Horowitz to look at whether the FBI properly handled applications for surveillance orders under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act — but that response did little to satisfy Trump and Republican lawmakers, who pointed to the limited scope of the inspector general’s authority.
“After Horowitz confirmed his own investigation Wednesday, Republicans remained stalwart that a special counsel was still necessary, citing limits on the inspector general’s power.
“For instance, the IG’s office does not have authority to compel witness interviews, including from past employees, so its investigation will be limited in scope in comparison to a Special Counsel investigation,” Goodlatte said in a statement.
“All Americans deserve to know if the rules were followed and whether justice was indeed blind,” added South Carolina Republican Lindsey Graham.”
I think that the silence is because Huber is sitting by a pool in Utah drinking milk (he is a Mormon, so margaritas are out). His appointment was a devious way for Sessions to punk Congress which was asking for a special prosecutor. If so, Sessions lied to Congress, Trump and the American people. Check the link below with Victoria Toensing (sp?) on Lou Dobbs last night: https://youtu.be/7OCngawmlbA