DOJ IG investigating whether officials tried to overturn 2020 election
Probe will look into the conduct of current and former DOJ employees
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Department of Justice Inspector General's Office announced Monday that they were investigating whether any current or former DOJ employees attempted to alter the results of the 2020 presidential election.
"The investigation will encompass all relevant allegations that may arise that are within the scope of the OIG’s jurisdiction," the announcement from Inspector General Michael Horowitz said, noting that this jurisdiction covers the conduct of past and present DOJ employees but "does not extend to allegations against other government officials."
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The official announcement did not go into any further details, but a source familiar with the probe pointed to Friday's New York Times report about now-former President Donald Trump working with certain Justice Department officials to possibly replace then-acting Attorney General Jeff Rosen with someone who would have been more open to overturning election results.
The report said that Trump and DOJ attorney Jeffrey Clark had discussed a plan involving replacing Rosen with Clark and pressuring Georgia to overturn the results of the election in that state by sending a letter to lawmakers saying they were looking into voter fraud allegations and the results should be vacated.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}White House counsel Pat Cippollone reportedly advised Trump not to do this, and Trump eventually decided not to pursue that course.
Clark denied to the Times that he was involved in any plan to have Rosen removed, and said details of the talks he had with Trump had been distorted.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"There was a candid discussion of options and pros and cons with the president," Clark told the newspaper. "It is unfortunate that those who were part of a privileged legal conversation would comment in public about such internal deliberations, while also distorting any discussions."
Fox News' David Spunt and Jake Gibson contributed to this report.