House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan subpoenaed Attorney General Merrick Garland on Tuesday over revelations federal prosecutors seized the emails and phone records of congressional staffers.
Last October, Google informed the former Chief Investigating Counsel for Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Ia.) that the DOJ had subpoenaed the internet conglomerate in 2017 for the employees’ emails and phone records.
When the subpoena was served in 2017, Grassley was chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and had been examining the DOJ’s conduct regarding the Steele Dossier.
The Steele Dossier is a controversial and unverified opposition research document on former President Donald Trump compiled by a former British spy who circulated the intelligence community.
After the 2017 subpoena disclosure, Jordan’s team concluded that the DOJ was “likely also seeking” communications and other records from numerous congressional staffers across party lines.
He cited media reports to support his charge that the DOJ’s spying went beyond former chief investigator Grassley.
Merrick Garland has strongly rejected Republican criticism that the Justice Department has been weaponized for political purposes. AP
“The committee also has concerns that investigative aspects of the department may be grounds to justify the Legislative Branch’s deliberative process and improperly access data from members and staff involved in conducting oversight of the Department,” Jordan (R-Ohio) wrote in a letter to Garland.
Jordan demanded information about the department’s apparent efforts to “surveill members of Congress and congressional staff.”
The Ohio Republican pointed out that the DOJ may seek records of personnel who participated in its surveillance.
Jim Jordan revealed that the DOJ responded to his previous request but insisted that it was not enough. Getty Images
Shortly after the October revelations, Republicans sent a letter to the DOJ demanding information about how it used “subpoenas to obtain private communications of Legislative Branch employees,” Jordan explained.
The DOJ later laid out a timeline and explained changes to its policy for investigations revolving around congressional staffers.
The attorney general has clashed in the past with Jim Jordan. Getty Images
“If the Department’s representation is accurate, it shows that the Executive Branch used substantial law enforcement authority to collect and search the private communications of multiple Legislative Branch employees exercising Constitutional oversight of the Department’s investigative actions—actions that were later found to be unlawful,” said Jordan.
But despite the department’s response, Jordan said that the DOJ “has not fully complied with our requests.”
He teased that his panel might consider “reform legislative proposals” to force the DOJ to provide “appropriate notice” when it engages in such actions involving members of Congress or staff.
The Post reached out to a DOJ spokesperson for comment.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
