By Jeff Carlson and Hans Mahncke
February 1, 2022
A supplemental court filing by special counsel John Durham confirms previous reporting that Department of Justice (DOJ) Inspector General Michael Horowitz concealed crucial information from Durham in connection with two separate investigations—the ongoing prosecution of former Clinton campaign lawyer Michael Sussmann and the criminal leak investigation of former FBI General Counsel James Baker.
The Jan. 28 filing by Durham updated the court on precisely when Durham first learned of two cellphones that had been used by Baker while he was with the FBI. The existence of these phones was first mentioned in a Jan. 25 filing, in which Durham claimed that the Inspector General’s Office (OIG) had failed to disclose its possession of two FBI cellphones belonging to Baker.
Following the Jan. 25 filing, Horowitz’s office apparently told Durham that the existence of one of the cellphones may have been mentioned on a conference call that took place four years ago.
“The OIG Special Agent had a conference call with members of the investigative team, including Mr. Durham, during which the cellphones likely were discussed,” reads the Jan. 28 court filing.
However, Durham states in the filing that he not only doesn’t recall the conference call, but also that he had no knowledge of Horowitz’s possession of Baker’s cellphones before being informed of their existence by a separate investigative team within the FBI on Jan. 6.
Notably, Horowitz is unable to say with certainty that Baker’s phone was even mentioned on the Feb. 12, 2018, conference call. Moreover, at the time of the conference call, Horowitz’s office was not in possession of either of Baker’s cell phones.
While Horowitz did gain possession of Baker’s phone several days later, on Feb. 15, 2018, there’s no record that he informed Durham. Nor is there any record of subsequent communications between Howowitz’s office and Durham regarding the Baker phone. This despite the fact that Durham was conducting a criminal leak investigation into Baker at around the same time that Horowitz gained access to Baker’s cellphone.
While Horowitz did gain possession of Baker’s phone several days later, on Feb. 15, 2018, there’s no record that he informed Durham. Nor is there any record of subsequent communications between Howowitz’s office and Durham regarding the Baker phone. This despite the fact that Durham was conducting a criminal leak investigation into Baker at around the same time that Horowitz gained access to Baker’s cellphone.
[Read the rest of the article here]
Letter to John Durham from Jim Jordan and Mark Meadows with a cc to Elijah E. Cummings, Committee on Oversight and Reform
In October 2017, the House Committees on Judiciary and Oversight and Government Reform began investigating decision-making and actions at the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Bureau of lnvestigation (FBI) in the context of the 2016 Presidential Election.
The conduct of DOJ personnel, largely at the FBI, during this time departed from the norms of impartial justice and fairness that Americans expect from these institutions.
As we uncovered more facts during our oversight, we became concerned investigative and prosecutorial decisions may have been influenced by political bias. We know the DOJ and FBI departed from traditional investigative and prosecutorial practices, and insufficiently adhered to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).
The Committees learned that in some instances, high-ranking DOJ and FBI officials, including the FBI General Counsel James Baker and DOJ Associate Deputy Attorney General Bruce Ohr, took the self-described "unusual" step of inserting themselves into the evidentiary chain of custody.
During the course of our investigation we interviewed former FBI General Counsel James Baker and discovered your office is investigating him for unauthorized disclosures to the media: [view the complete letter sent to John Durham]
Sounds like Horowitz is covering up a lot of things for a lot of people at the DOJ and FBI (and probably himself included!). It also sounds like a lot of people are now talking in an effort to save their own ass!
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