Skip to main content

Justice Department watchdog will investigate whether FBI acted improperly during election

Justice Department watchdog will investigate whether FBI acted improperly during election

Share this story

FBI Director James Comey Testifies To House Judiciary On Oversight At The F.B.I.
Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images

The Justice Department’s internal watchdog announced today that it will conduct an investigation into the Justice Department and FBI’s actions during the 2016 presidential election, according to a statement.

Investigation will look into FBI actions before election

The investigation, conducted by the agency’s inspector general, will focus on several controversial actions taken during the election. Among the items to be investigated are FBI Director James Comey’s July press conference on the Hillary Clinton email server investigation, an out of the ordinary event where he recommended against charges, and his decision to release a controversial letter to Congress just before the election.

According to the statement, the watchdog agency will also examine what spurred a release of Clinton-related documents pushed out on Twitter just before the election, and look into claims by Republicans about whether the Justice Department’s Assistant Attorney General for Legislative Affairs gave non-public information to the Clinton campaign.

Many questions about the Justice Department and FBI’s actions during the campaign still linger. Comey’s letter, which suggested a Clinton-linked investigation could be revived only to quickly shutter the idea, has frequently been cited as one factor in Trump’s win.