The House Judiciary Committee is probing the Justice Department (DOJ) Office of Inspector General’s (OIG) alleged involvement in the agency’s Biden-era lawfare against Donald Trump, The Federalist has learned.
In a Tuesday letter obtained by The Federalist, Committee Chair Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, requested that Acting DOJ IG Don Richard Berthiaume, Jr. provide lawmakers with records related to the OIG’s role in seizing Rep. Scott Perry’s cell phone in 2022. As noted by Jordan and previously reported by The Federalist, federal agents confiscated the Pennsylvania Republican’s device as part of its Arctic Frost inquiry, which ultimately became Special Counsel Jack Smith’s elector lawfare against Trump.
According to Jordan, at least “one agent from the Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of Inspector General (OIG)” was involved with the seizure of Perry’s phone. The congressman further noted how, “According to reports, the Justice Department OIG used its laboratory in Northern Virginia to assist the FBI in conducting a forensic review of Representative Perry’s phone.”
“Reports indicate that Representative Perry’s phone ‘was imaged after the search,’ creating a forensic copy of the device’s contents — including communications protected by common-law privileges as well as the Constitution’s Speech or Debate Clause,” Jordan wrote. “The OIG’s assistance in imaging Representative Perry’s phone raises serious concerns about why the OIG would be willing to sacrifice its independence to assist the FBI in advancing such a partisan investigation.”
The Judiciary Committee chair went on to highlight recent bombshell revelations showing that the FBI, as part of its Arctic Frost lawfare, sought and obtained the phone records of eight GOP senators and a Republican House member. According to a Senate Judiciary Committee press release, the data acquired by the agency “shows when and to whom a call is made, as well as the duration and general location data of the call,” but “does not include the content of the call.”
“These reports raise concerns about the OIG’s potential involvement in obtaining the Members’ phone records given its prior involvement in obtaining a Member’s cell phone,” Jordan wrote.
Additional documents released by the Senate Judiciary Committee reveal that it was not only Republican members of Congress who were targeted as part of the Biden administration’s get-Trump probe.
As The Federalist reported, the FBI “filed subpoenas seeking the bank records and communications of numerous conservatives and Republican-affiliated organizations.” This included individuals such as the Conservative Partnership Institute’s Ed Corrigan, Mark Meadows, and Cleta Mitchell, as well as groups like the Republican National Committee and America First Policy Institute.
[READ: ‘100 Times Worse Than Watergate’: 3 Biggest Revelations From Latest ‘Arctic Frost’ Document Dump]
As part of the Judiciary Committee’s ongoing investigation into Arctic Frost, Jordan requested that Berthiaume Jr. forfeit “[a]ll documents and communications between or among employees of the OIG, DOJ, and FBI referring or relating to the seizure of cell phones from any Member of Congress” and all such records “between or among employees of the OIG, DOJ, and FBI referring or relating to obtaining or receiving phone records of any Member of Congress.”
He additionally asked that the DOJ OIG partake in a briefing with the committee to discuss its “involvement in the Arctic Frost investigation.” The congressman requested that all documents be turned over and the briefing be scheduled “not later” than 5 p.m. on Nov. 26.
House Judiciary Letter to DOJ IG by The Federalist
Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He previously served as a state content writer for Convention of States Action and his work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics, RealClearHealth, and Conservative Review. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood
