No. The AG is not independent of the President. He fired the head of the FBI; he can fire the AG, and he can certainly tell the AG what to concentrate on.
Do not take my word for it. Don’t even take Tribe’s word for it. Listen to former AG Mukasey; he knows what he’s talking about.
‘Laurence Tribe, Professor of Constitutional Law, Harvard Law School
(Via email:) “Under the laws and Justice Department regulations governing federal prosecution, a President Trump would not have legal authority to direct the Attorney General to appoint a special prosecutor to ‘look into’ Hillary Clinton’s email situation or the Clinton Foundation or anything else. That’s not within a President’s power.’
snip
‘Judge Michael Mukasey (former U.S. Attorney General, 2007-2009, under George W. Bush; U.S. District Judge, 1987-2006, appointed by Ronald Reagan; partner, Debevoise & Plimpton)
Asked in a telephone interview whether Trump could order that a special prosecutor be appointed, “No, that’s not within his powers. I think he said, ‘I would direct my attorney general’ to exercise the power to appoint a special counsel. “The AG’s proper answer would then be, ‘I’ll think about it.’ Or ‘I’ll review the facts,’” Mukasey said. [His point is that the attorney general must exercise independent discretion—not merely carry out the President’s whims.]’
There’s much more at the link.
http://fortune.com/2016/10/10/donald-trump-special-prosecutor-hillary-clinton/