The Inspector General of the Department of Justice, Michael E. Horowitz, announced on Monday that the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) is investigating whether a former or current DOJ official was making an improper attempt to try to get the DOJ to decide the outcome of the 2020 presidential election, ”according to a release.
The inspector general’s office said they were making this statement, in line with DOJ policy, “to reassure the public that an appropriate agency is investigating the allegations.”
The investigation comes on the heels of reports last week from The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal that former President Donald Trump attempted to use his Department of Justice to challenge the election results, an attempt that included the possibility that Trump at the time acting attorney would dismiss. General Jeffrey Rosen.
The Times said in a report published on Friday that Jeffrey Clark, a lawyer for the DOJ, had almost convinced Trump earlier this month to remove Rosen and use the department to undo Georgia’s election results.
Clark – who is appealing for the former president’s false allegations of electoral fraud – met with Trump earlier in January and told Rosen after the meeting that the then president would replace him with Clark. According to the newspaper, Clark would then prevent Congress from confirming the election results in Biden’s favor.
Rosen demanded to hear the news directly from Trump, the Times said, and arranged a meeting on the evening of January 3 – the same day as Trump’s call with Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, in which Georgia put the civil servant under pressure placed to find enough. votes for him to win Georgia came to light.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer asked Horowitz to launch an investigation on Saturday, tweeting that it was “unscrupulous that a Trump administration leader would rally to win the will of the people.” undermine’.