April 3, 2018, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement praising Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ approach to investigating Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) court abuses with the combination of the Office of Inspector General and a dedicated U.S. Attorney:
“At the end of the day, Attorney General Jeff Sessions never needed another special counsel to investigate FISA court abuses when a U.S. attorney could be tasked to look into the matter, in tandem with the Office of Inspector General. There is nothing a special counsel can do that a U.S. attorney cannot do. The difference is accountability and oversight. Whereas a special counsel would operate independently, the U.S. attorney and the Inspector General answer directly to the Attorney General. The other critical point is that the Inspector General and the Sessions-appointed U.S. attorney have been working together for a while as potential criminal activity was uncovered. Appointment of another special counsel would set back any potential investigation by at least three months without any additional value. The fact that this investigation has been ongoing outside of the public eye is proof why Sessions’ course is the right one.
“Our system of justice demands that people be treated as innocent until proven guilty. The current special counsel operates with the presumption that everybody who ever worked for President Trump is guilty until he says they are innocent, and he runs people’s good names through the mud in an attempt to extort guilty pleas. That is not justice, that is an agenda, and it has no place in America’s constitutional legal system.”
Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 106 or at media@limitgov.org to arrange an interview with ALG experts.
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