Justice Dept. Watchdog Says DOJ Is Impeding Investigations

During a House Judiciary hearing, Tuesday, the chief watchdog for the Department of Justice claimed that senior officials at the DOJ have impeded or delayed him from gaining access to important documents crucial to his investigations.

“The FBI and some other department components … have refused our requests for various types of documents. As a result, a number of our reviews have been significantly impeded,” Inspector General Michael Horowitz said.

He also testified that DOJ officials caused “significant delays in gaining access to important documents” in the IG’s review of Operation Fast and Furious, the ATF’s blood-soaked gun-running scheme that funneled an estimated 1,400 weapons to drug cartels in Mexico – allegedly in an effort to generate evidence against the cartels – after they had used the guns to kill people.

Congressman Bob Goodlatte, Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, questioned Horowitz, on DOJ’s stonewalling of investigations.

Horowitz is one of 47 IGs who signed a letter to the House Oversight and reform Committee describing “multiple instances of obstruction by executive branch officials.”

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