DOJ Inspector General says his investigators will ‘assess’ any ‘irregularities’ in James Comey’s Congressional testimony
- DOJ IG Michael Horowitz made the remark in testimony on Wednesday
- Republican Rep. Mark Meadows questioned him on Comey’s prior testimony
- Meadows said that Comey made statement inconsistent with the IG report
- Vowed to refer the matter to the IG for investigation ‘today’
- Horowitz said his office will look into any irregularities in Comey’s testimony
Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz has said that his investigators will look into any discrepancies in former FBI Director James Comey’s prior Congressional testimony.
Horowitz, tasked with investigating misconduct within the DOJ, of which the FBI is a part, made the remark during testimony Wednesday before the House Committee on Oversight and Reform.
Republican Rep. Mark Meadows told Horowitz that he and Rep. Jim Jordan plan to make a referral to him about apparent inconsistencies in Comey’s testimony about opening an obstruction case against President Donald Trump.
‘We would assess it,’ Horowitz said.
Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz (above) said that his investigators will look into any discrepancies in former FBI Director James Comey’s prior testimony
Meadows told Horowitz that Comey’s statements in closed-door testimony in December 2018 were inconsistent with what’s in Horowitz’s latest report, which found that Comey violated bureau policies by drafting, leaking and retaining memos documenting private discussions with Trump..
‘I’m finding just a number of irregularities,’ Meadows said.
Meadows said that Comey testified that he did not initiate an obstruction of justice investigation into Trump because of remarks the president made to him.
But Horowitz’s report indicated that Comey purposely leaked his memos of those conversations with Trump to spark a special counsel investigation of alleged obstruction.
‘So two of those can’t be true,’ Meadows said. He added, ‘So we’ll be referring those inconsistencies to you today, Mr. Horowitz.’
Comey is seen testifying before the Senate Intelligence Committee in June 2017
Special Counsel Robert Mueller declined to draw a conclusion as to whether the president committed obstruction.
The hearing was a forum that included several inspectors general.
Another key figure, Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, faces the prospect of criminal charges for allegedly lying to federal agents.
McCabe became acting director of the FBI after Trump fired former Director James Comey on May 9, 2017.
Last year, the watchdog office concluded that former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe had misrepresented under oath his involvement in a news media disclosure, and referred him for possible prosecution. That matter remains open with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington.