The Justice Department is reviewing a 10-month-old criminal referral against Blackwater founder Erik Prince that accused him of misleading congressional investigators.
Assistant Attorney General Stephen Boyd informed House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff on Wednesday the agency “acknowledges” receipt of his letter from April about Prince, a former Navy SEAL who is the brother of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. The Justice Department “will refer your request for investigation to the proper investigative agency or competent for review,” Boyd added.
Back in April, Schiff wrote to Attorney General William Barr, identifying “at least six categories of materially false statements” made by Prince to the intelligence panel as part of its investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. The California Democrat made his case by comparing Prince’s answers to the committee to what was written in special counsel Robert Mueller’s report.
Seeking “prompt” action from the DOJ, Schiff claimed Prince “hindered” his committee’s work with deceptive answers about meetings with Kirill Dmitriev, chief executive officer of the Russian Direct Investment, and his relationship with President Trump’s campaign.
It’s unclear why it took 10 months for the Justice Department to respond, although Boyd said: “We apologize for the delay.”
In the intervening months, it was revealed that Barr tasked U.S. Attorney John Durham with reviewing the origins of the FBI’s Russia investigation, during which Mueller found no criminal conspiracy between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin.
A lawyer for Prince downplayed the Justice Department’s review.
“There is nothing new here. Erik Prince’s House testimony has been public for more than a year and was available at all times that Mr. Prince met with the Department of Justice during the special counsel’s investigation,” Matthew Schwartz, a partner at Boies Schiller Flexner LLP, told the Washington Examiner. “Mr. Prince cooperated completely with the special counsel’s investigation, as its report demonstrates. There is nothing new for the Department of Justice to consider, nor is there any reason to question the special counsel’s decision to credit Mr. Prince and rely on him in drafting its report.”
