OAN Staff Blake Wolf
5:51 PM – Wednesday, January 1, 2025
The Department of Justice (DOJ) recently released a report revealing that three senior Justice Department officials leaked information about private investigations days before the election.
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The Office of the Inspector General released a report on Monday, Dec. 30, detailing an investigation into Justice Department officials after allegations that they were “politically motivated” to disclose information about a private investigation. did.
“The Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of Inspector General (OIG) has responded to allegations that the Litigation Division’s actions were politically motivated and violated the Department’s policies regarding disclosure of information regarding ongoing matters. “We have begun an investigation,” the statement began.
All three people involved violated the Department of Justice's confidentiality and media policies by leaking information to reporters, and one of them also shared an article containing the leaked information to the department's official social media accounts, resulting in the department's Violated social media policy.
“An OIG investigation revealed that three then-senior Justice Department officials leaked nonpublic Justice Department investigative information about ongoing DOJ investigation matters to selected reporters days before the election, violating DOJ confidentiality. and media communications policy, resulting in two news articles that: Contained nonpublic Department of Justice investigation information. The OIG investigation found that one of three then-senior Justice Department officials violated the Department's confidentiality and media communications policies by reposting links to news articles through the Department's social media accounts. “We were also found to have violated social media policies,” the report continued.
The three officials in question did not respond to requests for interviews because they are no longer employees of the Department of Justice, but this is because “the OIG does not have the authority to compel or subpoena former Justice Department employees to testify.” It means.
It is currently unclear which research was leaked and what information was leaked in the press.
“The OIG completed its investigation and submitted a report to the Office of the Deputy Attorney General. The report contained findings of misconduct against the attorney and was reported to the Professional Misconduct Review Unit for appropriate action. “A document has been submitted,” the report added.
The report examines whether the former employees violated the Hatch Act, which prohibits them from “participating in partisan political activity while on the job, on federal property, or while using federal property.” concluded that a report was submitted to the Office of the Special Counsel. ”
“The OIG also submitted a report to the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, which has exclusive jurisdiction to investigate alleged violations of the Hatch Act, to consider whether the actions of these employees violate the Hatch Act.” states.
Additionally, former federal prosecutor Neema Rahmani said the Justice Department has a “long-standing '60-day rule' that prohibits prosecutorial actions that could affect future elections.” He said there was.
“Unfortunately, some prosecutors violate these rules for personal or political reasons, leading to further distrust in federal law enforcement. “We need to be careful about the information we share with the media. That's why these Department of Justice policies exist,” he said. newsweek.
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