DOJ watchdog will investigate if officials tried to 'improperly' overturn the 2020 election

Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz is planning to probe whether current or former department officials tried to overturn the 2020 election.

Reports over the weekend detailed former President Donald Trump's alleged plan to oust former Acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen after he apparently refused to help cast doubt on Georgia's presidential election results. Horowitz's Monday announcement seemed to be a direct response to those reports, saying he would investigate whether any officials "engaged in an improper attempt to have DOJ seek to alter the outcome of the 2020 presidential election." The probe will be limited to current and former employees of the Justice Department, Horowitz said.

Trump's usually loyal attorney general William Barr left the White House just a month before Trump was set to leave office. Both Barr and Rosen reportedly refused to help Trump with his challenges to President Biden's 2020 win, leading Trump to consider ousting Rosen in favor of another loyalist, DOJ civil division head Jeffrey Clark. Trump denies having plotted to remove Rosen, though some former Justice Department officials had reportedly planned to resign if he had been removed. Clark meanwhile reportedly aided Trump in his far-fetched plan to keep hold of the White House.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up