Justice may consider counsel for uranium deal

WASHINGTON — Ten days after President Donald Trump said that he was frustrated with the Justice Department for not investigating Hillary Clinton and other Democrats, the Justice Department told Congress on Monday that senior prosecutors were looking into whether a special counsel should be appointed to investigate them.

The prosecutors will examine reports of misconduct at the Clinton Foundation and the Obama administration’s 2010 decision to allow a Russian nuclear energy agency to acquire much of the United States’ uranium, among other matters, according to a letter sent to the House Judiciary Committee from a senior Justice Department official on Monday.

“These senior prosecutors will report directly to the attorney general and the deputy attorney general, as appropriate, and will make recommendations as to whether any matters not currently under investigation should be opened, whether any matters currently under investigation require further resources, or whether any matters merit a special counsel,” said the senior official, Stephen E. Boyd, an assistant attorney general.

The decision to examine those matters raises questions about whether Trump is trying to use the Justice Department to investigate his political rivals and distract from the special counsel’s investigation into his presidential campaign.