WASHINGTON (AP) – Democrats’ calls for an independent prosecutor to lead the investigation into Trump campaign contacts with Russia grew louder Wednesday in the aftermath of the FBI director’s ouster, but the options for an independent probe remain limited, and the only current avenue for such an appointment is in the hands of the Justice Department.
The White House has said President Donald Trump’s firing of FBI Director James Comey has nothing to do with the ongoing counterintelligence probe, but lawmakers from both parties are questioning the timing and some Democrats also are asking whether Trump’s move constitutes interfering in an ongoing investigation.
Questions of political interference have dogged the investigation before. In March, Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from anything related to the Russia investigation. On Tuesday, both he and the official currently overseeing the probe, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, recommended that Trump fire Comey.
“If there was ever a time when circumstances warranted a special prosecutor, it is right now,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Wednesday.
There is little Congress can do immediately other than apply political pressure to try to force the Trump administration’s Justice Department to name a special counsel. Other alternatives for an independent investigation require congressional approval and, while Democrats are threatening to introduce legislation, a shot at success appears challenging. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Wednesday a new probe “could only serve to impede the current work being done.”