From his perch on the U.S. House Judiciary Committee, U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., personally handed U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch a letter on Tuesday demanding she appoint a special counsel to investigate former U.S. Sec. of State Hillary Clinton using a private server for her official email.
Clinton is running for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016 while DeSantis is hoping to replace U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., in the U.S. Senate. Rubio is running for the Republican presidential nod and has said he will not seek a second term in the Senate.
DeSantis pointed to an interview with CBS News that President Barack Obama gave last month when he said he did not think Clinton’s server “posed a national security problem.” The Florida Republican said the Obama administration could not be trusted to handle the matter.
“Just as he did with the IRS investigation, the president prejudged the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of private emails and her handling of classified information,” DeSantis said. “Members of the military and intelligence communities have been – and continue to be – prosecuted for infractions potentially less egregious. Secretary Clinton is not above the rule of law. It is critically important that this investigation is conducted impartially and that the decision to prosecute does not hinge on political considerations. For that reason, I am demanding that Attorney General Lynch appoint a special counsel.”
DeSantis drafted the letter he gave to Lynch on Tuesday at the end of October. More than 40 members of the House signed on to the letter including some of the leading conservatives in the chamber such as U.S. Rep. Walter Jones, R-NC, U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., U.S. Rep. Matt Salmon, R-Az., and U.S. Rep. Randy Weber, R-Texas. Two Republicans in the Florida delegation signed on the letter: U.S. Reps. Bill Posey and Ted Yoho.
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