Goodlatte statement on IG Report examining DOJ & FBI actions in 2016

Washington, D.C. –  House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) today made the statement below on the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General Report on “A Review of Various Actions by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Department of Justice in Advance of the 2016 Election.”

“Today’s Inspector General report confirms that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton received special treatment from the Obama Justice Department during its investigation of her use of a private email server. The Justice Department and FBI didn’t treat her like any other criminal suspect and didn’t follow standard investigative procedures. In fact, one of the lead investigators texted he would ‘stop’ Trump from becoming President. These actions have tarnished the reputations of our nation’s top law enforcement agencies and have undermined Americans’ confidence in their justice system. Equality under the law is a core American value. Our laws are to be administered and enforced with impartiality. But this was not the case in the Clinton investigation.

“Next week, the House Judiciary and Oversight Committees will hold a joint hearing on the Inspector General’s report. We will hear from Inspector General Horowitz on the report’s findings and have the opportunity to ask him questions about it. Further, today’s report underscores the importance of the House Judiciary Committee’s ongoing joint investigation with the House Oversight Committee into decisions made by the Justice Department and FBI in 2016. This report states that the Office of the Inspector General did not second-guess investigative or prosecutorial decisions made in the Clinton investigation. But the report also makes clear they should have.”

Details on Joint Judiciary-Oversight Hearing: On Tuesday, June 19, 2018 at 10:00 a.m., the House Committees on the Judiciary and Oversight and Government Reform will hold a joint hearing on “Oversight of the FBI and DOJ Actions in Advance of the 2016 Election.” At the hearing, Inspector General Michael Horowitz will testify before the Committees on the findings of the today’s report on Justice Department and FBI actions in advance of the 2016 presidential election. The hearing will take place in Room 210 of the House Capitol Visitor Center (HVC-210).The hearing will be webcast live at judiciary.house.gov and oversight.house.gov.

In October 2017, the House Judiciary Committee and House Oversight and Government Reform Committee announced a joint investigation into decisions made by the Department of Justice in 2016 and 2017. To date, the Committees have interviewed several key witnesses and reviewed thousands of documents.