Congress May Push Trump Administration Justice Dept. to Probe Clinton Emails

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – Despite US President-elect Donald Trump's decision not to seek further investigation of former rival Hillary Clinton’s email use, Congress will demand that the probe continue, Representative Darell Issa said in an interview Friday.

"The balance of this next president is going to come in re-establishing the independence of the Department of Justice," Issa told Fox News Channel, referring to the Clinton case. "If he doesn't do it, Congress will certainly push for that."

In New York Times interview published Tuesday, Trump said he doesn’t intend to pursue criminal charges against Clinton because "she went through a lot and suffered greatly in many different ways."

Issa characterized Trump’s decision as one that any incoming president would announce. However, the California Republican, who serves on the House of Representatives’ Judiciary Committee, said Trump’s nomination of Senator Jeff Sessions to be US attorney general signals the possibility of an independent investigation into Clinton's email practices as secretary of state.

"He [Trump] doesn’t say she [Clinton] is innocent. The decision has to be made by professionals," the lawmaker added.

During their often-bitter campaign, Trump said that as president he would appoint a special prosecutor to probe Clinton’s email practices while serving as the United States’ top diplomat from 2009 to 2013.