House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte and House Oversight Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy are asking the Department of Justice to appoint a special counsel to investigate how the FBI handled applications to wiretap Trump associates in 2016 and 2017.
The two Republican lawmakers sent a letter Tuesday night to Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein asking them to appoint a special counsel.
The request comes on the heels of an announcement by the attorney general last week that the Justice Department’s inspector general had opened an investigation into allegations of abuse of the wiretap process under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA.
“We think this is a very serious matter regarding conduct by the FBI and by some in the Department of Justice that that calls for the appointment of a special counsel who will have subpoena and prosecutorial powers. We also believe that this matter extends beyond the Department of Justice and therefore calls for someone who can have greater jurisdictional authority than the inspector general,” Goodlatte, R-Va., told reporters Tuesday afternoon.
Gowdy, R-S.C., said he has been “resistant” for calls for special counsel appointments in the past, but he counted “at least 24 witnesses” that would be outside the reach of the Justice Department’s inspector general.
“If the IG cannot do it himself or herself, and the Department of Justice should not do it because of conflicts of interest whether real or perceived, then that leaves no alternative except special counsel,” Gowdy explained.
Both Gowdy and Goodlatte noted the inspector general cannot bring in former Justice Department and FBI officials, nor can he bring in officials from other departments or people from outside the federal government who could be involved.
“It’s particularly important that the DOJ itself and FBI itself not lead this investigation because it involves decisions made at the highest levels of the FBI and high levels of the Department of Justice that need to be examined from the outside,” Goodlatte said. “The inspector general can and should look into the matter form the standpoint of what he can do, but his abilities in this area are limited.”
A special counsel would be “unbiased,” Goodlatte added.
Goodlatte said he believes there could be criminal charges if there is a special counsel.
“I think this calls for an independent look at the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and how they handle this matter,” he said.
Last month, Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee released a memo alleging FISA abuses by the Justice Department and FBI in how they obtained a wiretap of Trump aide Carter Page. The memo included allegations of using information in the unverified Steele Dossier — which was partially funded by Democrats — to obtain the wiretaps.
