'Un-American and grotesque': Ex-special counsel slams Sessions' suggestion he may prosecute Hillary Clinton

A former special counsel who led the investigation into the 1993 tear-gas assault by the FBI in Waco, Texas, slammed Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ suggestion Tuesday he may appoint a special counsel to investigate former Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, calling it “un-American” and “grotesque.”

“To have the winning side exploring the possibility of prosecuting the losing side in an election—it’s un-American, and it’s grotesque,” John Danforth told the Washington Post. “The proliferation of special counsels in a political setting is very, very bad.”

Peter Zeidenberg, former deputy special counsel who served under special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald during the investigation of former Dick Cheney advisor Scooter Libby told the Post employees at the Department of Justice “would be completely disgusted and demoralized by” the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate Clinton.

“They don’t like feeling that they are political tools to be used by the president,” he said.

Former federal prosecutor Andrew McCarthy likewise told the Post he doesn’t see “any good reason for the Justice Department, in a situation where it’s not the administration investigating itself, to appoint a special counsel.”

“You should never float the idea on your side, because when you float the idea, you are at least suggesting there’s a possibility you may not be capable of doing the job yourself for ethical reasons,” he explained.