(USA Features) Rep. Jim Jordan is requesting the case file of a senior former FBI official cited for misconduct by the Justice Department inspector general ahead of the 2016 election.
The Ohio Republican sent a letter to Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz Wednesday seeking information about the former senior official who reportedly made unauthorized contact and accepted unapproved gifts from members of the media, the Washington Examiner reported.
Horowitz, in a summary released this week, said his office’s probe into allegations of misconduct against the now-former senior FBI official uncovered evidence to substantiate the claims.
Jordan is requesting an unredacted copy of the case file on the former senior official to ascertain “the extent of this serious misconduct” and “evaluate the FBI’s handling of the matter.”
The Ohio lawmaker is focused on two portions of the summary:
— “The OIG investigation substantiated the allegation that the Senior FBI Official had numerous unauthorized contacts with the media from 2014 through 2016, in violation of FBI policy. In addition to substantive communications with reporters, this media contact included unauthorized social engagements outside of FBI Headquarters involving drinks, lunches, and dinners.
— “The OIG also found that the Senior FBI Official violated federal regulations and FBI policy when the Senior FBI Official accepted tickets from members of the media to two black tie dinner events, one valued at $225 and the other valued at $300, and received transportation to one event from a reporter, all without prior authorization.”
It’s not clear who the former senior official is.
The summary “explains that the unnamed senior official retired from the FBI before an OIG interview could occur,” Jordan wrote.
“When asked to sit for a voluntary interview, the senior official declined,” he continued.
“The OIG also noted in the investigative summary that this investigation grew out of OIG’s investigation of misconduct by the FBI and Department of Justice in advance of the 2016 election,” Jordan’s letter continued, according to the Examiner.
The IG’s summary went on to note that the agency has the authority to compel testimony from current employees “upon informing them that their statements will not be used to incriminate them in a criminal proceeding” but not those who have left their jobs.
The unnamed senior official retired from their position before they could be interviewed by the IG’s office.
Jordan asked for the case file to be delivered to him no later than Aug. 4.
The Ohio lawmaker has focused on alleged FBI misconduct as it related to the 2016 election in the past.
He has been extremely critical of how the bureau investigated allegations of collusion between former President Donald Trump and his allies and Russian officials allegedly to fix the outcome of the 2016 race against then-Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.
He’s also criticized the manner in which the FBI went after retired three-star Army general and then-incoming National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.
Investigations by a number of congressional committees and former special counsel Robert Mueller failed to turn up any evidence that Trump and Russia colluded during the 2016 election cycle.
However, some of those probes turned up evidence that Clinton’s campaign paid for a dossier compiled by former British spy Christopher Steele that was based on information passed to him by Russian intelligence sources.