raydawg
Serious Thumper
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Trump is wrong. Inspector General Michael Horowitz is the man for the job.
March 1, 2018 7:18 p.m. ET
Donald Trump is rightly frustrated that so many in Washington and the media refuse to take seriously the evidence that the government abused its surveillance powers during the 2016 election. Still, let’s remember who the bad guys are in this story. Hint: not Attorney General Jeff Sessions or Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz.
Mr. Trump’s Wednesday tweetstorm included a blast at both men after news that Mr. Sessions had asked Mr. Horowitz to look into whether the Federal Bureau of Investigation went rogue when it asked the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court for a warrant against ex- Trump aide Carter Page. The president complained that Mr. Horowitz will “take forever, has no prosecutorial power and [is] already late with reports on [James] Comey, etc.” He berated the inspector general as “an Obama guy” and asked why Mr. Sessions won’t use “Justice Department lawyers” to investigate “massive FISA abuse.” And then, of course: “DISGRACEFUL!”
Hardly. The Sessions request is the best—arguably the only—way to get an honest assessment of 2016 out to the public. Congressional Republicans are doing excellent work, but they face Democratic sabotage and a biased media. The Justice Department has no business investigating itself, and any finding from the Trump Justice Department would be cast as tainted. The last thing anyone should want is another special counsel, who would bring still more controversy and really would “take forever.”
No one should underestimate the power of the inspector general. Congress created these watchdogs in 1978 after the nightmare of trying to pry information out of a crooked Nixon administration. Inspectors general were deliberately placed within the executive branch and empowered to seek out information in ways that Congress can’t, even with subpoenas—including by demanding quick and comprehensive access to documents and promptly interviewing relevant officials. But inspectors general are still accountable; They go through extensive vetting before appointment and have a statutory duty to report to Congress. Most take their duty of neutrality seriously.
And no one should underestimate Mr. Horowitz’s ability to plumb the FISA case. The gripe that Mr. Horowitz is an “Obama guy” is silly. Inspectors general don’t serve set terms, and it is normal for them to span administrations. Mr. Horowitz was sworn in during the Obama presidency, but he also served under George W. Bush on the U.S. Sentencing Commission. He is so highly regarded that only a few years ago his fellow inspectors elected him chairman of the Council of Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency, which oversees standards and training.
Further, Mr. Horowitz proved willing to take on irregularities during the Obama years. In 2012, just six months on the job, he issued a scathing report on “Fast and Furious,” the gun-walking scandal. He ultimately recommended 14 officials for disciplinary action, and the report led to the resignation of a senior Obama appointee.
In 2015, he led the fight against an outrageous Obama administration legal opinion claiming inspectors general could not access agency wiretaps, grand jury testimony or credit information unless they first got permission from the agency they were inspecting. It was a naked attempt to block oversight, and Mr. Horowitz persuaded 68 of the 74 inspectors general to sign a letter of protest. He also testified in favor of the Inspector General Empowerment Act of 2016, which restored those rights. Congress passed it without dissent.
Most important, Mr. Horowitz has proved willing to work alongside congressional investigations, and appears to be a fan of transparency. If Mr. Trump were paying attention, he’d know that the only reason the public has seen the darning text messages between FBI colleagues Peter Strzok and Lisa Page is because Mr. Horowitz demanded them and did not object when Congress asked for them. And when the FBI claimed to have lost a tranche of those texts, it was Mr. Horowitz’s office that recovered them. A Horowitz probe should be no bar to Congress continuing its work, or to the declassification of the underlying documents.
Mr. Horowitz has 450 special agents, auditors, inspectors and attorneys on his staff, and he is said to be nearly done with his investigation into the FBI’s handling of the Clinton email scandal a little more than a year after he started it. He’ll have more than enough resources to delve quickly into the FISA case, in all its complexity.
True, inspectors general lack prosecutorial power. Their job is to review evidence, establish whether crimes have been committed, and make referrals for action. Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley had already asked Mr. Horowitz to investigate FISA abuse, and many in Congress are eager for the inspector general to deliver both facts and a judgment on whether there was abuse or criminal behavior.
Mr. Horowitz’s greatest asset is his neutrality. The public is reeling from narratives and counternarratives, even as it has been denied the ability to see much of the evidence. This is a chance for an independent report of the facts. If Mr. Trump wants to see the Russia rumble finally get to an honest end, he’ll let Messrs. Sessions and Horowitz get on with their jobs.
Write to kim@wsj.com.
Appeared in the March 2, 2018, print edition.Makes too much sense, in a time where tabloid titillation, sells...... 
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