Clinton says DOJ investigating her would be 'abuse of power'
WASHINGTON - Hillary Clinton Wednesday warned the current administration against appointing a special counsel to investigate her role in the sale of a uranium company in 2010.
In an interview with US magazine Mother Jones, Clinton said it is "such an abuse of power". She was responding to reports that the Department of Justice (DOJ) is considering the move.
"I regret if they do it because it will be such a disastrous step to politicizing the justice system," Clinton said.
Attorney General Jeff Sessions had reportedly asked top prosecutors to examine whether to use a special counsel to investigate the sale of the uranium company to Russian interests, which happened when Clinton acted as the secretary of state.
Several Republicans, including US President Donald Trump, have alleged there were links between the sale and donations to the Clinton Foundation, even though multiple federal agencies, including the State Department, approved the deal in 2010.
The company, Uranium One, controlled land equal to roughly 20 percent of the uranium capacity of the United States when the deal was made.
Republicans have tried to link the takeover to a sum of $145 million donated to the Clinton Foundation by stakeholders in the company.
"This Uranium One story has been debunked countless times by members of the press, by independent experts," Clinton said.
Clinton suggested the Trump administration was trying to divert public attention from special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into possible collusion between the Trump's presidential campaign and the Russian government.
"It is nothing but a false charge that the Trump administration is trying to drum up to avoid attention being drawn to them," she said.
Besides, Clinton said she was not concerned about being prosecuted.
"There is no basis to it," Clinton said. "At the end of the day, nothing will come of it, but it will, you know, cause a lot of terrible consequences that we might live with for a really long time."
