White House says it’s too early to decide on special prosecutor

WASHINGTON — A White House spokeswoman said Sunday that it is too soon to say whether a special prosecutor should look into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential campaign.

Calls have grown louder from Democrats in Congress for U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions to recuse himself from the issue because of his role as a prominent Trump supporter during the campaign, and to appoint an independent special prosecutor to investigate.

Some Republicans have joined the call. Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., voiced support Friday on HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher” for appointing a special prosecutor, though he also said congressional intelligence committees should continue their work.

Issa, who narrowly won re-election last year, was a vociferous critic of the Obama administration when he headed the House Oversight Committee. In that post, he spearheaded investigations on topics like Benghazi and bank bailouts.

U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded that Russian intelligence hacked Democratic Party computers and used other tactics last year to interfere with the election. The FBI is separately investigating whether anyone on Trump’s campaign had improper contacts with Russian authorities during the campaign.

On Sunday, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, the White House deputy principal White House press secretary, said congressional investigations on Russia and the campaign should be allowed to continue forward before a special prosecutor appointment is considered.

“I don’t think we’re there yet,” Sanders said on ABC’s “This Week.” “Let’s work through this process.”