We have a deal!
That’s what House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte and House Oversight Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy just declared, announcing that they’ve reached a deal with the Justice Department for access to previously unavailable documents.
#BREAKING: @HouseJudiciary & @GOPoversight have reached an agreement with DOJ to access the documents we’ve been requesting for months. https://t.co/UzRI8zpq5u
— Bob Goodlatte (@RepGoodlatte) April 23, 2018
We look forward to reviewing the information to better understand decisions made by DOJ in 2016 and 2017. Congress has a constitutional responsibility to preserve the integrity of our justice system by ensuring transparency and accountability of actions taken.
— Bob Goodlatte (@RepGoodlatte) April 23, 2018
The two congressmen released the following joint statement:
Today, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) and House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) released the following statement after reaching an agreement with Department of Justice (DOJ) Assistant Attorney General Stephen E. Boyd and United States Attorney John Lausch to review and obtain documents and information pursuant to the Committees’ joint investigation into decisions made in 2016 and 2017.
So what does this mean? What do these documents apply to? Who will go to jail?
(I’m jesting on the last question…only a little).
In their statement, Gowdy and Goodlatte provide a helpful list of the incidents the documents cover:
- In October 2017, the Committees opened a joint investigation into the decisions made by the Department of Justice in 2016 and 2017.
- In December 2017, the Committees sent a follow-up letter requesting documents and information regarding the FBI’s decision making in 2016 and 2017.
- On March 22, the House Judiciary Committee issued a subpoena to the Department of Justice for documents pursuant to the Committees’ joint investigation.
- On April 11, Chairman Goodlatte and Chairman Gowdy met with U.S. Attorney John Lausch to discuss the Committees’ access to documents related to our joint investigation.
The phrase “decisions made by the Department of Justice in 2016 and 2017” refers to the DOJ’s investigation into the Trump campaign’s possible ties to the Russian government, which has resulted in a special counsel investigation led by Robert Mueller.
Gowdy and Goodlatte seem determined to get to the bottom of all the shenanigans Obama’s DOJ pulled during the presidential campaign, including potential wiretapping of members of the Trump campaign, and maybe even a set-up of Trump using the debunked dossier.
It’s great they finally reached a deal on the documents. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has been stonewalling this House-led investigation for some time.
What do you think? With Gowdy on the case, will they find something corrupt at the bottom of all of this? Tell us your thoughts below!