Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) and several of his House GOP colleagues had it all planned out: They would conduct “investigations” of any number of things regarding the Justice Department, including the January 6, 2021 Capitol insurrection.
But if Jordan and his cohorts were expecting the DOJ to acquiesce, they found out Friday that the department will not cooperate in any manner whatsoever because doing so might jeopardize ongoing criminal investigations.
According to Politico, Justice communicated their intentions in a letter sent to Jordan.
“Consistent with longstanding policy and practice, any oversight requests must be weighed against the Department’s interests in protecting the integrity of its work,” Carlos Uriarte, DOJ’s legislative affairs chief, wrote in the five-page letter. “Longstanding Department policy prevents us from confirming or denying the existence of pending investigations in response to congressional requests or providing non-public information about our investigations.”
Clearly, the DOJ is laying down a marker and letting Jordan and others in the GOP know that they won’t be bullied or intimidated. However, Justice will cooperate in ways that are consistent with how it has handled past congressional requests for information, citing a precedent that goes back to the Reagan administration.
The Justice Department letter cites a 1982 directive from President Ronald Reagan, stressing that the administration would try to respond to congressional oversight requests and avoid invoking executive privilege, reserving it for use “only in the most compelling circumstances.” Uriarte, an assistant attorney general, said DOJ would respect the committee’s “legitimate efforts” to seek information, “consistent with our obligation to protect Executive Branch confidentiality interests.”
Jordan will likely be furious by the letter from Uriarte, but there’s nothing he can do about it. He has no right to any information about ongoing DOJ investigations and cannot compel them to share anything with him or his committee.
