House Oversight Committee Chair Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) on Wednesday called on the Justice Department’s inspector general to investigate the firing of James Comey as the director of the FBI.
“Previously I asked Inspector General Horowitz to review the FBI’s actions in advance of the 2016 election. Today I sent a letter urging IG Horowitz to expand the scope of his review to include the decision to fire Director Comey. I look forward to receiving the IG’s findings,” Chaffetz said in a statement.
The inspector general for the Justice Department, Michael Horowitz, had announced in January that he would look into decisions made at the FBI in the run-up to the 2016 election, including those made as part of the probe into Hillary Clinton’s email use.
In a letter on Wednesday, Chaffetz asked Horowitz to look at “the facts and circumstances surrounding the removal of Director Comey.”
“You stated previously that your work includes an examination of whether Comey’s public communications and notifications to Congress about the Clinton investigation comported with Justice Department and FBI policies and procedures. You separately stated ‘if circumstances warrant, the OIG will consider including other issues that may arise during the course of the review.’ The recommendation to remove Comey indeed warrants such consideration,” Chaffetz wrote.
