Inspector General Opens Probe into Whether DOJ Officials Tried to Overturn Election
Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz announced Monday that he has opened an investigation into whether any former or current department officials “engaged in an improper attempt” to alter the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.
The probe will look into allegations concerning the conduct of former and current Justice Department officials but will not extend to other government officials, Horowitz said in a statement.
The investigation comes after a New York Times report on Friday found that a former assistant attorney general, Jeffrey Clark, worked with then-President Donald Trump to devise a plan to oust the acting attorney general and to attempt to challenge the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.
Trump reportedly planned to replace the acting attorney general with another official ready to pursue unfounded claims that there had been widespread election fraud, though former Attorney General William Barr and numerous election officials nationwide have disputed such claims. The former president also pressed the Justice Department to ask the Supreme court to invalidate President Joe Biden’s election win, the report said.
