Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz and FBI Director Christopher Wray testified on Capitol Hill Monday about the findings of last week’s inspector general’s report.
Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz and FBI Director Christopher Wray testified on Capitol Hill Monday about the findings of last week’s inspector general’s report.
In Horowitz’s opening statement, he told lawmakers they reviewed over 1.2 million documents and interviewed more than 100 witnesses in over 17 months.
One of the big revelations that came during the three-hour hearing is that former FBI director James Comey is under investigation for his leaked memos while at the FBI detailing interactions with President Trump.
«Question number one, Mr. Horowitz, are you investigating the handling of his memo and does that include the classification issues, and should Mr. Comey expect a report when it’s complete?» asked Sen. Chuck Grassley, (R-Iowa) chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
«We received a referral on that from the FBI. We are handling that referral and we will issue a report when the matter is complete,» replied Horowitz.
Grassley said he invited Comey to testify at the hearing today as well, but his lawyer said he was out of the country — a statement Grassley questions after a tweet from Comey on June 16 showing him in Iowa.
The inspector general’s report on the Clinton email probe released last Thursday revealed what House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) is calling an «extreme bias» against President Trump.
«Now we see that whole process of that investigation was handled with extreme bias and questionable actions and people need to be held accountable,» said House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) on Fox News’ «Special Report» with Bret Baier.
The «bias» was revealed a series of communications sent by FBI agents. Most notably, a text from agent Peter Strozk.
Former FBI attorney Lisa Page texted Strozk saying: «Trump’s not ever going to become president right? Right?!»
Strozk responded: «No. No, he won’t. We’ll stop it.»
While Democrats argue the inspector general’s report concluded the bias shown in the text messages did not impact the FBI’s decision not to prosecute Hillary Clinton in 2016, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) says it shows a «serious problem with the culture at FBI headquarters.»
«If we can look at just one or two investigations and find this much bias, I can only imagine what else is out there,» Hatch said during the hearing.
Hatch also pressed Wray on how the FBI plans to handle their issue with leaks to the media.
Wray assured lawmakers they have set up a new «dedicated leak investigation unit» to combat this issue.
And another hot topic on the table during the hearing: whether or not the FBI director believes Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller’s ongoing investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election is a «witch hunt».
«I do not believe special counsel Mueller is on a witch hunt,» Wray told Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT).
Horowitz and Wray will appear before the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday.
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