Opposing view: Mueller should recuse himself or resign

In June 2017, I officially called for Robert Mueller to recuse himself from the investigation of Russian influence in the 2016 election. I believed that Mr. Mueller’s recusal was necessary because of former FBI director James Comey’s manipulative leaks of potentially classified government memos and the appointment of hyperpartisan prosecutors to the special counsel’s team.

Since last summer, my resolve that Mr. Mueller recuse himself or resign has only strengthened. Congress continues to uncover more conflicts of interest and biases harbored within the Justice Department. These conflicts and biases began with the Hillary Clinton investigations (Uranium One and misuse of confidential emails) and carried over to the out-of-control TrumpRussia collusion hunt. Americans have learned about the roles that Comey, Loretta Lynch, Sally Yates, Peter Strzok, Lisa Page and others have played to insert their own political agendas into the Justice Department.

Americans believe, with some justification, that there are two standards of justice: one for the Washington elite and one for them. If you don’t like the president and happen to be a senior member of the FBI, you can leak sensitive information with little retribution. If you are a veteran prosecutor, it might be all right to inadequately investigate your friend Hillary Clinton in hopes of her exoneration — and then join the team investigating her hated rival.

These two examples aren’t just hypothetical scenarios. They are real-life examples of two individuals who are central to the Mueller investigation. A leader of a team of law enforcement investigators and lawyers who cannot be objective because of conflicts of interest and biases should not investigate the leader of the free world.

I call upon Mr. Mueller to recuse himself or resign because of these issues, and for an unbiased special counsel to be appointed to uncover any irregularities from the start of the Hillary Clinton review to the current examinations. The American people deserve truth, transparency and justice.

Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., serves on the House Judiciary Committee.