Justice Department watchdog investigates possible attempt to block election results

Justice Department watchdog investigates possible attempt to block election results

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The office of Inspector General Michael Horowitz is launching an investigation into whether any former or current DOJ official was making an improper attempt to change the DOJ’s outcome of the 2020 presidential election, ‘it announced on Monday.

The investigation comes on the heels of reports 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 General Jeffery. Rosen.
New York Times: Trump and DOJ lawyer plan to replace his acting AG and undo Georgia's election results
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 appealed to 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.

Clark is no longer with the department.

Rosen demanded to hear the news directly from Trump, the Times said, and arranged a meeting on January 3 – the same day as Trump’s call with Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in which Georgia put the civil servant under pressure 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’.

This story has been updated with additional details.

CNN’s Caroline Kelly contributed to this report.

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