Two New Probes Launched Into Efforts To Weaponize DOJ For Trump Election Reversal Bid

on June 18, 2018 in Washington, DC.
WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 18: Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill June 18, 2018 in Washington, DC. According to a report by Justice Depar... WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 18: Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill June 18, 2018 in Washington, DC. According to a report by Justice Department Inspector General Horowitz, former FBI Director James Comey and other top officials did not follow standard procedures in their handling of the 2016 investigation into Hillary Clinton's email server, but did not find any evidence of political bias. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images) MORE LESS
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

Efforts to use the Department of Justice to further President Trump’s election reversal scheme are now the subject of two, potentially-explosive investigations.

Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz announced Monday that his office is investigating efforts to have the Justice Department “seek to alter the outcome of the 2020 Presidential Election.”

The statement comes after the revelation Friday, via a report in the New York Times, that Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark worked with President Trump in a failed bid to have the department make moves aimed at attacking Joe Biden’s win in Georgia.

Around the same time as Horowitz announcement, the Senate Judiciary Committee unveiled a request for Justice Department documents linked to that episode and other apparently related gambits. The letter was signed by Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), who is set to take over the committee’s gavel with Democrats narrow takeover of the chamber, as well as other Democrats on the committee.

Clark, who served as a division head under President Trump, pushed for the Department to send a letter or make a public announcement casting doubt on Georgia’s results, according to the Times. When his proposals were rebuffed by DOJ leadership, he then reportedly plotted with Trump to sideline the Department’s acting attorney general Jeff Rosen, though Trump ultimately bailed on a plan to fire Rosen and replace him with Clark.

Clark has pushed back on the Times’ reporting, which has been partially confirmed by the Washington Post and Wall Street Journal. But Clark has declined to go into any detail about what supposedly is inaccurate in the Times’ account.

Horowitz’s statement did not refer to the Clark specifically. The inspector general said  the new probe will look at “any former or current DOJ official” and that it will “will encompass all relevant allegations that may arise that are within the scope of the OIG’s jurisdiction.”

As the scheme to shake-up DOJ leadership was coming to a head, the Department also pressured the U.S. Attorney in Atlanta to leave his post, as, according to the Wall Street Journal, the White House was dissatisfied with his failure to bring investigations into Trump phony election fraud theories.

An inspector general probe into the departure of the U.S. Attorney Byung “BJay” Pak was reported by the Washington Post last week, before the account of the Clark scheme became public. The Senate Judiciary Committee is investigating that incident as well, according to the Monday letter. The lawmakers asked that the requested documents be produced by Feb. 8, which is when the impeachment trial over Trump’s Jan. 6 incitement of a mob on the Capitol is scheduled to begin.

President Trump’s attempts to hijack the Justice Department for his election reversal crusade also included a demand that the Department file a lawsuit at the Supreme Court to challenge the results, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Read the full statement from the inspector general below:

The DOJ Office of the Inspector General (OIG) is initiating an investigation into whether any former or current DOJ official engaged in an improper attempt to have DOJ seek to alter the outcome of the 2020 Presidential Election. The investigation will encompass all relevant allegations that may arise that are within the scope of the OIG’s jurisdiction. The OIG has jurisdiction to investigate allegations concerning the conduct of former and current DOJ employees. The OIG’s jurisdiction does not extend to allegations against other government officials.

The OIG is making this statement, consistent with DOJ policy, to reassure the public that an appropriate agency is investigating the allegations. Consistent with OIG policy, we will not comment further on the investigation until it is completed. When our investigation is concluded, we will proceed with our usual process for releasing our findings publicly in accordance with relevant laws, and DOJ and OIG policies

Latest News

Notable Replies

  1. The OIG’s jurisdiction does not extend to allegations against other government officials.

    Is Trump off limits then? Is he just Individual 1 again?

  2. I guess elections have consequences.

  3. Above Horowitz’s pay grade?

  4. And words have meaning, and actions have repercussions.

  5. It would be nice to see a few lawyers go to jail. Might serve as examples so that others may not follow their actions in the future. This rubbish that there’s some kind of “privilege” involved with their discussions needs to be fully examined - plotting to overthrow an election is not a role for a DOJ lawyer - it’s sedition.

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

214 more replies

Participants

Avatar for ghost Avatar for srfromgr Avatar for mondfledermaus Avatar for cervantes Avatar for steviedee111 Avatar for squirreltown Avatar for randyabraham Avatar for inversion Avatar for thebigragu Avatar for emjayay Avatar for lastroth Avatar for nemo Avatar for thunderclapnewman Avatar for tena Avatar for tsp Avatar for mpower1952 Avatar for castor_troy Avatar for coimmigrant Avatar for edys Avatar for skeptical Avatar for carolson Avatar for txlawyer Avatar for philmore Avatar for Scoutmom

Continue Discussion
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Deputy Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: