Four House committee chairs are calling on the Justice Department watchdog to open an emergency investigation into whether Attorney General William Barr and other political appointees have improperly influenced the upcoming 2020 presidential election.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), House Oversight and Reform Committee Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) and House Administration Committee Chairwoman Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) on Friday called on Department of Justice (DOJ) Inspector General Michael Horowitz to probe whether Barr’s public comments on ongoing investigations and other actions are a violation of the agency’s longstanding policy and federal law.
“Attorney General Barr has signaled repeatedly that he is likely to allow DOJ to take prosecutorial actions, make public disclosures, and even issue reports before the presidential election in November. Such actions clearly appear intended to benefit President Trump politically,” the top Democrats wrote to Horowitz.
“Few actions would prove more damaging to public confidence in the integrity of the DOJ and our democratic process than the perception that federal prosecutorial power can be used to prejudice a pending investigation or influence an upcoming election. As such, we believe it is imperative that this matter be immediately investigated, that you inform our Committees of your decision to open an investigation, and that you report the results promptly to our Committees,” they continued.
In particular, Democrats claim Barr and U.S. Attorney John Durham have made several public comments on an investigation into the origins of the Russia investigation that they say could violate this Department policy and related guidelines, and they pointed to the possibility of the DOJ releasing a report or summary within 60 days of the election as an action that could influence the election.
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#BREAKING: House Democrats urge DOJ watchdog to investigate Barr, political appointees of possible interference in 2020 race https://t.co/464mW0xXSC
— The Hill (@thehill) September 18, 2020
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