Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley said the panel will vote on legislation to protect special counsel Robert Mueller from political interference, despite begin told by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell the bill would never come to the floor. Photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI | License Photo

April 18 (UPI) -- The Senate Judiciary Committee plans to vote on legislation to protect special counsel Robert Mueller from political interference, despite direction from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to prevent the bill from coming to the floor.

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, made the announcement Wednesday, one day after McConnell announced the vote would not happen. The legislation is on the agenda Thursday, but an actual vote is expected to be delayed until next week.


"I can't worry about what's going on on the floor," Grassley said. "Last fall, I said we're not going to do anything in this area unless you get together. They got together, so I feel an obligation to keep my word and move forward."

McConnell has said legislation protecting the Mueller is unnecessary because he doesn't think President Donald Trump will fire Mueller. Mueller, a former FBI director, is leading an investigation into the possibility of Russian interference in the 2016 election and claims of collusion between Trump's campaign and Russian entities. Trump has denied those accusations.

"I'm the one who decides what we take to the floor, that's my responsibility as the majority leader, and we will not be having this on the floor of the Senate," McConnell said.

Meanwhile, GOP lawmakers are asking Attorney General Jeff Sessions to investigate a slew of people, including Hillary Clinton, former FBI Director James Comey, ex-Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe, former Attorney General Loretta Lynch, former acting Attorney General Sally Yates, former acting Deputy Attorney General Dana Boente and FBI officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page.

Allegations in a letter dated Wednesday and signed by 11 Republican members of Congress accuse the individuals of bias against Trump or in favor of Clinton since the 2016 campaign.

RELATED Lawmakers introduce bill to protect Special Counsel Robert Mueller

"Because we believe that those in positions of high authority should be treated the same as every other American, we want to be sure that the potential violations of law outlined below are vetted appropriately," the lawmakers wrote.