The Trentonian (Trenton, NJ)

Watchdog probes if officials tried to overturn results

- By Michael Balsamo

WASHINGTON » The Justice Department’s inspector general has launched an investigat­ion to examine whether any former or current department officials “engaged in an improper attempt” to overturn the results of the 2020 presidenti­al election.

Inspector General Michael Horowitz said Monday that the investigat­ion will investigat­e allegation­s concerning the conduct of former and current Justice Department officials, but will not extend to other government officials.

The Justice Department watchdog investigat­ion follows a report in The New York Times that a former assistant attorney general, Jeffrey Clark, had been discussing a plan with thenPresid­ent Donald Trump to oust the acting attorney general and try to challenge the results of the 2020 race by falsely saying there had been widespread election fraud.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer demanded the inspector general launch a probe “into this attempted sedition.” The New York Democrat said it was

“unconscion­able a Trump Justice Department leader would conspire to subvert the people’s will.”

The watchdog’s probe is part of a number of efforts underway to investigat­e the attempts by Trump and his allies to subvert the election results. The moves culminated in the deadly Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol and the second impeachmen­t of Trump, this time for inciting an insurrecti­on.

Also on Monday, the voting machine company Dominion Systems filed a defamation suit against Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani for his repeated claims about widespread voting fraud in the election.

Election officials across the country, along with Trump’s former attorney general, William Barr, have confirmed there was no widespread fraud in the election. Republican governors in Arizona and Georgia, key battlegrou­nd states won by Democrat Joe Biden, also vouched for the integrity of the elections in their states. Nearly all the legal challenges from Trump and his allies have been dismissed by judges, including two tossed by the U.S. Supreme Court.

 ?? JACQUELYN MARTIN — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, FILE ?? Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz is launching an investigat­ion into whether any former or current department officials tried to overturn the results of the 2020 presidenti­al election. No other government officials are being investigat­ed.
JACQUELYN MARTIN — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, FILE Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz is launching an investigat­ion into whether any former or current department officials tried to overturn the results of the 2020 presidenti­al election. No other government officials are being investigat­ed.

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