Sen Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, said on MSNBC on Wednesday that it’s a “graveyard” for investigations when congressional intelligence committees get involved because their work is largely done outside of public view.
Since standing committees have constraints on their time and resources, congressional leaders could also assemble a high-profile bipartisan panel of lawmakers from a variety of committees to examine Russian meddling. Select committees were formed to investigate such scandals as Watergate, the Iran-contra arms deal and more recently the Obama administration’s handling of the deadly 2012 Benghazi attacks. But Republicans have so far refused to establish a select committee.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions is facing pressure to step aside and appoint a special prosecutor for an independent investigation.
Outside counsel has been appointed in other major scandals, including Watergate and the Whitewater controversy involving Bill and Hillary Clinton. But while Sessions said during his confirmation hearings that he would appoint a special prosecutor to distance himself from any investigation involving Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server, he has given no indication that he plans to separate himself from investigations into Russian ties and Flynn.
