Following the foofaraw of the Republican and Democrat memos released by the House Intelligence Committee, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that the Inspector General’s office would be investigating the alleged FISA abuses, possibly in yet another instance of Sessions trying to appease his boss who frequently berates him both publicly and privately. Of course, this did not work, as President Trump quickly tweeted how “disgraceful” it was that Sessions would do such a thing.
Why is A.G. Jeff Sessions asking the Inspector General to investigate potentially massive FISA abuse. Will take forever, has no prosecutorial power and already late with reports on Comey etc. Isn’t the I.G. an Obama guy? Why not use Justice Department lawyers? DISGRACEFUL!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 28, 2018
The current Inspector General is “an Obama guy” (as Trump complained) because he was promoted to his current job by President Obama after working at the Justice Department under both Republican and Democrat administrations. The Inspector General, while lacking prosecutorial power, can and does make routine criminal referrals to the Justice Department. The Attorney General has released a statement defending himself:
“We have initiated the appropriate process that will ensure complaints against this Department will be fully and fairly acted upon if necessary. As long as I am the Attorney General, I will continue to discharge my duties with integrity and honor, and this Department will continue to do its work in a fair and impartial manner according to the law and Constitution.”
According to CNN, Sessions may have thought Trump went too far with his latest tweet, even reportedly calling the newest insult “in the weeds,” said a Sessions source. As for Trump, he’s been sore with his attorney general ever since he recused himself from the Russia probe, setting the stage for a special counsel to be appointed.
(Via CNN)