James Traficant: “I think this bill is flawed for one major reason, a grave sin of omission. The intent of this act is to provide a…”

“I think this bill is flawed for one major reason, a grave sin of omission. The intent of this act is to provide a mechanism to avoid the potential conflicts of interest or the appearances of conflicts, or conflicting loyalties which could arise if, in fact, the Attorney General or the President had to conduct or supervise a criminal investigation of themselves or other high-level, high-profile political figures. The true, ultimate conflict in this whole process is when the Justice Department, the foxes in the henhouse, have to investigate and prosecute themselves. Nothing happens unless the Justice Department initiates it, and the so-called Traficant amendment said when the Attorney General finds credible evidence from credible witnesses that a U.S. attorney is in fact responsible for misconduct, prosecutorial misconduct, fraud, bribes, or any other allegations, that a special counsel, special independent investigator, would be assigned.”