(Credit: DoJ OIG Report)
Department of Justice (DOJ) Inspector General Michael Horowitz on Tuesday found that the Justice Department in 2017 secretly surveilled lawmakers, congressional staffers, and reporters.
CNN reported that the Justice Department, in 2017, during Trump’s first term in office, secretly obtained records of Reps. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Eric Swalwell (D-CA), Patel – who was at the time a Republican staffer for the House Intelligence Committee – as well as 21 Democrat congressional staffers, 20 Republican staffers (including Patel,) two nonpartisan congressional staffers, and eight reporters.
President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Patel to serve as the FBI Director.
Career prosecutors at the Justice Department sought records, including emails from journalists at CNN, the Washington Post, and the New York Times.
Horowitz wrote that seeking these communications based on “the close proximity in time between access to classified information and subsequent publication of the information… risks chilling Congress’s ability to conduct oversight of the executive branch.” He added, saying that such a move:
…exposes congressional officials to having their records reviewed by the Department solely for conducting Congress’ constitutional authorized oversight duties and creating, at a minimum, the appearance of inappropriate interference by the executive branch in legitimate oversight activity by the legislative branch.
Horowitz did not find retaliatory motivation by the career prosecutors who issued the compulsory process of the lawmakers, staffers, and reporters, nor was the motivation based on party affiliation. He did not recommend charges again anyone in their review.
The IG report found that the Justice Department did not disclose that the NDOs focused on lawmakers and congressional staffers, although Justice Department policy at the time did not require that.
The Inspector General’s report recommended the Justice Department:
- Evaluate when advance notification to a senior Department, such as the Deputy Attorney General or Attorney General, should be required before compulsory process is issued to consider raising constitutional separation of issues
- Consider the circumstances in which NDOs should identify for the reviewing judge that the records covered by a proposed NDO are records of lawmakers or congressional staffers
- Consider whether there are circumstances in which an exhaustion requirement should be a requisite for issuing compulsory process to obtain records of members of Congress and congressional staffers