Attorney General Jeff Sessions Jefferson (Jeff) Beauregard SessionsTrump's policies on refugees are as simple as ABCs Ocasio-Cortez, Velázquez call for convention to decide Puerto Rico status White House officials voted by show of hands on 2018 family separations: report MORE said Thursday that he wouldn't rule out appointing a special prosecutor to investigate the Justice Department under former President Obama.

“I’m going to do everything I possibly can to restore the independence and professionalism of the Department of Justice,” Sessions told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt. “So we would have to consider whether or not some outside special counsel is needed.

“Generally, a good review of that internally is the first step before any such decision is made.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Hewitt had asked Sessions about whether outside counsel was needed to probe a series of Obama-era controversies that sparked criticism from conservatives. Under Obama, the department was attacked by Republicans for, among other issues, its handling of the probe into former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham ClintonBarr criticizes DOJ in speech declaring all agency power 'is invested in the attorney general' Virginia Democrat blasts Trump's 'appalling' remark about COVID-19 deaths in 'blue states' The Hill's Campaign Report: Biden asks if public can trust vaccine from Trump ahead of Election Day | Oklahoma health officials raised red flags before Trump rally MORE's use of a private email server and investigations into local police departments.

President Trump also claimed last weekend, without offering any evidence, that Obama ordered officials to wiretap Trump Tower during last year's presidential race.

Of particular concern, Sessions said, was the Justice Department's handling of an investigation into whether the IRS improperly targeted conservative groups for investigation. The Justice Department closed the probe without filing any charges against the agency, citing a lack of evidence of intended wrongdoing.

“That circumstance raised a lot of questions in my mind, and when I was in the Senate,” Sessions said. “So it is a matter of real concern to me.”

Talk of a special prosecutor to investigate the Obama Justice Department comes amid calls for a separate special prosecutor to investigate links Trump's associates and the Russian government.