Department of Justice (DOJ) officials mislead courts in gag order applications and inform dozens of elected officials and Congressional staffers of government spying during Russiagate disinformation unfolding According to the Department of Justice's Office of Inspector General (OIG),
In 2017 and 2018, the Justice Department obtained data on two members of Congress, 43 staff members, and several reporters in an effort to determine the source of classified information about the Trump-Russia investigation to Congress and the press. According to , the effort is on a larger scale than previously understood. report It was announced Tuesday by the DOJ OIG. In applying to a court to secure a gag order that would prevent a third-party company from notifying a monitored person that the government had obtained information, the Justice Department said, There was no mention of the fact that The staff. ”
The OIG report said the Department of Justice secured 40 of these gag orders, formally known as non-disclosure orders (NDOs), and most have been renewed at least once. Some NDOs were valid for up to four years. (Related: Durham report proves Republican constituency's worst fever dreams are completely true)
Department of Justice OIG Report by nick pope On Scribd
In the first place, the Justice Department's attempt to obtain the records of members and employees was “involved in the authority of a government agency that is equivalent to a constitutional right,'' and “the use of Congress solely for the purpose of operating Congress as authorized by the Constitution.'' It would subject employees to scrutiny of their records by the department, impose oversight duties, and at least give the appearance of improper interference of the executive branch with legitimate oversight activities by the legislative branch.'' the OIG wrote.
Additionally, when the Department of Justice submits applications and renewal requests to NDOs to keep surveillance targets secret, the department generally does not provide specific case-by-case reasons for the gag order, instead issuing a general He explained the necessity of the gag order using a standard phrase. , according to an OIG report. In fact, the Justice Department did not bother to inform the court that the NDO applied to sitting members or their staff, and the court proceeded with approval.
“The Department of Justice policy in effect at the time did not require NDOs filed with courts to address facts relevant to records requests by members of Congress or Congressional staff, and courts did not. ,” the OIG wrote in the report. .
Both sitting members of Congress targeted by the Justice Department were Democrats, according to the OIG report. Of the 43 employees targeted, 21 were Democrats, 20 were Republicans, and two were independents.
One of the officials targeted by the Justice Department's surveillance was Kash Patel, who served as senior adviser to then-Republican Chairman Devin Nunes of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. According to CNN cited anonymous sources familiar with the matter. Patel, who was recently nominated by President-elect Donald Trump to head the FBI, accused Nunes in a memo suggesting that federal law enforcement officials misused surveillance courts to spy on Trump's 2016 campaign, Carter Page. We cooperated in unearthing information that he disclosed in 2018 and intercepted the information. He appears to have weighed in on the since-discredited allegations that President Trump illegally colluded with the Russian government.
The OIG said the Department of Justice has since amended its policy and that efforts to compel information about sitting members and their staff or pursue NDOs related to that process are now subject to the Department of Justice's Public Integrity Division and the U.S. Attorney's Office. He said he would require approval first.
But before founding Empower Oversight, a government transparency and accountability organization, Jason Foster served as chief investigative adviser on the Senate Judiciary Committee under Republican Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley. In his eyes, the changes are not enough.
“The idea that the Justice Department reformed its procedures after the arrests was made is ludicrous. So now it has to ask Public Integrity Division officials for permission to secretly collect Congressional communications records?” Foster he wrote on Tuesday. post to X, formerly Twitter. “It's a big deal. Who is responsible for misleading the court?”
The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
All content produced by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent, nonpartisan news distribution service, is available free of charge to legitimate news publishers with large audiences. All republished articles must include our logo, reporter byline, and DCNF affiliation. If you have any questions about our guidelines or our partnership, please contact us at licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
