House Democrats on Wednesday formally called for an investigation into two top officials at the Justice Department, part of a ramped-up effort to fight back against what they see as widespread wrongdoing in the Trump administration.
In a letter asking the agency’s inspector general to investigate, Representative Dan Goldman of New York and six other former Justice Department employees who now serve in Congress accused Emil Bove, the acting deputy attorney general, and Ed Martin, interim U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, of engaging in “flagrant ethics violations that compromise their ability to act in the public interest and undermine public trust in the Department of Justice.”
Mr. Bove represented President Trump throughout his election interference case and his classified documents case and has since ordered retaliatory actions against those who worked on the other side of those cases. Mr. Martin represented a defendant in a Jan. 6 case, attended the Capitol rally on Jan. 6 and has expressed support for the Oath Keepers militia group. At Trump’s direction, he has now dismissed those cases, the Democrats said.
A spokeswoman for Michael E. Horowitz, the Justice Department’s inspector general, declined to comment. Mr. Horowitz was appointed during the Obama administration, but has won fans among Trump supporters thanks to his critical report on how the F.B.I. conducted its first-term investigation into Mr. Trump. A spokesman for the department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In recent weeks, Democrats have come under criticism for what some see as a lackluster response to the rapid pace of the Trump administration, including its pardoning of Jan. 6 defendants and launching of internal investigations into the Justice Department and the F.B.I.
House Democrats have vowed to step up their efforts, which include forming a rapid response task force.
Mr. Goldman, who serves on the Judiciary Committee, is a former federal prosecutor and was lead counsel in the first impeachment case against Mr. Trump. Also signing the letter were Hillary Scholten of Michigan, Stacey Plaskett of the U.S. Virgin Islands, Mikie Sherrill of New Jersey, Glenn Ivey of Maryland, Maggie Goodlander of New Hampshire and Shomari Figures of Alabama.
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