by Chuck Ross
Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, is calling on Rep. Jerry Nadler to help obtain documents and testimony related to the FBI’s investigation of the Trump campaign prior to a hearing in July for Attorney General William Barr.
“The Attorney General’s appearance is also an opportunity for the Committee to conduct oversight of the Obama-Biden Administration’s weaponization of the Justice Department and intelligence community against the Trump campaign,” Jordan wrote in a letter to Nadler obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Barr is scheduled to testify before the panel on July 28, the first time he has appeared before Congress since 2019.
Nadler has already indicated that he plans to quiz Barr over his handling of several politically charged investigations involving Trump associates such as Roger Stone and Michael Flynn.
Jordan is calling on Nadler to also dig deep into the FBI’s investigation of the Trump campaign, and surveillance conducted against several Trump associates.
“As you claim to be so concerned about politicization at the Justice Department, this information should shock and alarm you,” wrote Jordan, who said that Nadler has “been oddly silent and disinterested.”
“To allow the Committee to better understand the scope and extent of the Obama-Biden Justice Department’s targeting of the Trump campaign and transition team, the Committee must obtain specific documents and testimony from relevant Obama-Biden Administration witnesses,” said Jordan.
Jordan did not specify the documents and witness interviews he is seeking. But he listed several revelations from the Justice Department inspector general’s report on the FBI’s Trump-Russia probe, as well as documents from the investigation of Flynn.
On Wednesday, the Justice Department disclosed notes that former FBI counterintelligence investigator Peter Strzok took during a Jan. 5, 2017, meeting that indicated that former Vice President Joe Biden brought up the Logan Act in reference to Flynn.
“The notes show that Vice President Joe Biden suggested using the Logan Act to target LTG Flynn, which wound up as the basis for the FBI’s subsequent interview of LTG Flynn,” wrote Jordan.
“In the past several months, we have learned shocking details about how the Obama-Biden administration used its Justice Department and intelligence community to target the Trump campaign,” Jordan said.
Jordan also pointed to the DOJ inspector general’s finding that the FBI made 17 “significant” errors and omissions in surveillance applications against Carter Page.
The IG’s report said the FBI misled the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) regarding the Steele dossier, which accused Page and other Trump associates of conspiring with Russia to influence the 2016 election.
The FBI relied heavily on information from former British spy Christopher Steele, but failed to tell the FISC about evidence that raised questions about the reliability of the dossier.
Jordan has for months unsuccessfully pressed Nadler to hold a hearing for Michael Horowitz, the Justice Department inspector general.
Nadler convened a hearing on Wednesday for Aaron Zelinsky, a former member of the special counsel’s team who accused Barr of improperly intervening in Stone’s case.
– – –
Chuck Ross is a reporter for the Daily Caller News Foundation.
