The decision by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to have the Justice Department’s inspector general look into possible FBI surveillance of President Trump’s 2016 campaign has failed to allay some Republican lawmakers’ fears the agency is too tainted already to be trusted with an internal investigation.
Rosenstein agreed during a meeting with Trump and senior intelligence officials on Monday that the Justice Department should “expand its current investigation to include any irregularities with the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s or the Department of Justice’s tactics concerning the Trump Campaign,” according to a readout provided by the White House. The Justice Department’s internal watchdog originally launched a probe in March into the agency’s handling of a surveillance warrant for former Trump campaign Carter Page, following demands for an investigation by conservative lawmakers who felt the agency had overstepped its authority.
Some of those same lawmakers are now skeptical that the broadened inspector general probe will be handled in a timely and appropriate manner, or that the conclusion will deviate from what they already believe to be true.
“[W]e’ve seen disturbing evidence that the FBI engaged in political targeting, But the DOJ can’t be trusted to investigate themselves – Congress needs the documents too,” House Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows, R-N.C., said in a tweet Sunday evening, urging the agency to make available to Congress the same materials it plans to review as part of its internal investigation.
Meadows, who joined two of his House colleagues last week in urging the president to intervene so the Justice Department would turn over the documents sought by congressional investigators, added on Monday that Rosenstein’s “belated referral” to the agency’s internal watchdog indicated he was aware of malpractice by the department and “he did nothing, or he’s seen the facts and believes nothing is wrong.”
The top conservative lawmaker is expected to help introduce a 12-page House resolution on Tuesday that details alleged misconduct at the Justice Department and FBI surrounding the Clinton email investigation, the Russia probe, and abuses of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
More than a dozen GOP lawmakers have endorsed the resolution, which will call for a second special counsel to be appointed, according to a statement released by Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y., on Monday.
Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., also suggested on Monday that the Justice Department may be incapable of appropriately investigating itself, arguing during a Fox News appearance that appointing a second outside investigation was preferable and necessary since Attorney General Jeff Sessions remains recused from the Russia probe.
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Republicans declare Justice Department guilty before internal investigation begins https://t.co/tSU2npc3cf pic.twitter.com/CHbN2SvRhb
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) May 22, 2018
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