Former Republican Rep. Jason Chaffetz anticipates Democrats will “drop some distractions” the same week the Justice Department inspector general releases his report on alleged government surveillance misconduct.
Chaffetz, now a Fox News contributor, said on Thursday, “There are some of us” who believe House Democrats are “rushing” through impeachment to “distract” from the Justice Department inquiries into the origins of the Russia investigation.
He singled out Inspector General Michael Horowitz’s report on alleged government surveillance abuses against President Trump’s 2016 campaign, which is due out on Dec. 9.
“Look for what the Democrats, particularly in the House, are going to try to do the week of the Horowitz report, because I think they are going to go out there and try to drop some distractions out there and try to get people looking over at this new shiny object as opposed to the facts that Horowitz has been able to gather,” Chaffetz said.
Chaffetz also addressed leaks about a former FBI lawyer, identified as Kevin Clinesmith, who Horowitz alleges altered a document related to the FBI seeking to renew a warrant to electronically surveil Carter Page, a onetime foreign policy adviser for the Trump campaign. Clinesmith is now under criminal investigation by U.S. Attorney John Durham.
Chaffetz snarked about how these reports “magically” came out ahead of the publication of Horowitz’s report, saying, “It’s just more evidence that this report that Horowitz is coming out with will be devastating.”
