Senators press for IG probe of Biden-Harris administration weaponizing DOJ, FTC leaks
The Senate Republicans wants an investigation by the inspector general into the Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission because of “systematic leaks” that Bloomberg News has received.
The Biden-Harris Administration was accused of using the administrative state as a weapon to harm certain businesses by leaking information to “liberal media.”
In a Thursday letter, the senators asked that Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz of the DOJ and Inspector General Andrew Katsaros of FTC launch an investigation into whether these agencies had violated ethics regulations.
Bloomberg News has reported that in 12 cases since 2023, the DOJ and FTC were “prepared” or “poised to take legal actions before an antitrust suit was filed. This news was broken by Senate Minority leader Mitch McConnell, along with Sen. Tom Cotton.
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Bloomberg News’ pattern of scoops strongly suggests that “certain officials from DOJ and FTC intentionally publicize legal actions days or weeks before they are filed,” they stated.
Both agencies have ethical rules prohibiting the leakage of civil cases prior to their filing.
The letter stated that “these leaks are not only unethical but also harm employees, shareholders and other parties.” If the companies are guilty of wrongdoing then the government must bring them to justice in a court. But the Biden and Harris administration shouldn’t bring them before the liberal media.”
The report continued, “These leaks seem to be just another example of this administration using the administrative state as a weapon against political opponents and critics. Much like [the] DOJ investigation parents at school board meetings or [the] FTC target Elon Musk and Twitter because of insufficient censorship by conservatives.”
In a press release, the FTC stated that employees of the agency take “their responsibility to protect the confidential investigations and deliberative processes” by the agency seriously.
It said that “any suspected breach of confidentiality is referred to FTC OIG for disciplinary actions.”
The Washington Times contacted the Justice Department to get a comment.
The list of leaked stories by the senators ranges from January to September 2024, and includes scoops such as the Justice Department’s plan to sue Google and Apple.
The story that broke the day before that the Justice Department was planning to sue Visa for monopolizing the debit card market came from the agency.
Bloomberg News declined comment on this report.
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