Attorney General Jeff Sessions must appoint a special prosecutor to probe ties between the Trump administration and Russia, The New York Times' editorial board wrote Friday.
A special, independent prosecutor is needed because the attorney general and the Justice Department cannot be "reliably impartial" about the Trump administration, says The Times.
An independent probe is necessary in this case especially because the Trump administration "seems uninterested in telling the truth in matters large and small."
Sessions has said he does not believe he would need to recuse himself from such an investigation. The attorney general was "Trump's first and most ardent supporter in the Senate," the board wrote.
The Times pointed out that only the attorney general can appoint a special prosecutor because a 1978 law that protected special prosecutors from presidential interference expired in 1999.
The Times slammed the refusal of a number of Republicans to investigate. "The Republicans in Congress can't decide whether they would rather act like a responsible, independent branch or just the friendly legislative arm of the White House," The Times wrote.
Trump has repeatedly slammed the "failing" New York Times and criticized a Tuesday Times report on his aides' contacts with Russia. At a press conference Thursday, Trump called that report a "joke," according to Business Insider.