Hillary Clinton calls possible Justice Department investigation 'an abuse of power'

The former secretary of state made the comments in a new interview.

ByABC News
November 16, 2017, 7:05 AM

— -- Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke out against news the Trump administration is considering appointing a special counsel to investigate her alleged ties to the Uranium One deal in an interview with Mother Jones on Wednesday.

Clinton called the possibility a "disastrous step into politicizing the Justice Department" and "such an abuse of power."

Attorney General Jeff Sessions authorized senior prosecutors at the Justice Department to evaluate whether allegations regarding the Clinton Foundation and the sale of a uranium company need to be investigated by a special counsel, according to a letter he sent the House Judiciary Committee on Monday, ABC News reports.

President Donald Trump has repeatedly said Clinton should be investigated for the 2010 sale of part of the Canadian mining company Uranium One to a Russian buyer, which had to be approved by the U.S. government. Several government agencies were involved in the approval, including the State Department, which Clinton was in charge of at the time.

PHOTO: Attorney General Jeff Sessions speaks during a House Judiciary Committee hearing on Capitol Hill, Nov. 14, 2017.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions speaks during a House Judiciary Committee hearing on Capitol Hill, Nov. 14, 2017.

Republicans have raised questions because around the same time, business associates of Uranium One donated millions of dollars to the Clinton Foundation.

Clinton said such an investigation would have devastating consequences for the justice system in America, going as far as to say the move signaled moving to a "dictatorship."

"If they send a signal that we're going to be like some dictatorship, like some authoritarian regime, where political opponents are going to be unfairly, fraudulently investigated, that rips at the fabric of the contract we have, that we can trust our justice system," Clinton told Mother Jones.

Sessions had said he would recuse himself from any Clinton-related investigations in the past.

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