Gowdy has ‘complete confidence’ in DOJ watchdog attacked by Trump

Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) on Wednesday voiced confidence in the Justice Department’s inspector general after President Trump attacked the government watchdog earlier in the day over a probe into alleged surveillance abuses.

Gowdy, the chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said that Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz “has been fair, fact centric, and appropriately confidential with his work.”

“He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate without a single dissent. I have complete confidence in him,” Gowdy added in a statement, saying he hopes Horowitz gets “the time, the resources and the independence to complete his work.”

{mosads}

Horowitz is an increasingly critical player in the controversy surrounding the FBI and the Russia probe, and has also been leading a probe of the FBI’s handling of the 2016 investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server as secretary of State.

Gowdy’s defense of the watchdog Wednesday came after Trump took to Twitter to criticize Attorney General Jeff Sessions for appointing the inspector general — instead of Department of Justice lawyers — to investigate allegations that the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) was improperly used to obtain warrants to monitor the Trump campaign team.

“Why is A.G. Jeff Sessions asking the Inspector General to investigate potentially massive FISA abuse,” Trump tweeted on Wednesday morning. “Will take forever, has no prosecutorial power and already late with reports on Comey etc. Isn’t the I.G. an Obama guy? Why not use Justice Department lawyers? DISGRACEFUL!”

Why is A.G. Jeff Sessions asking the Inspector General to investigate potentially massive FISA abuse. Will take forever, has no prosecutorial power and already late with reports on Comey etc. Isn’t the I.G. an Obama guy? Why not use Justice Department lawyers? DISGRACEFUL!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 28, 2018

Trump’s tweet marked the latest attack against his attorney general, whom Trump has repeatedly criticized for recusing himself from the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Former Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), the previous head of the Oversight committee, said on Fox News’s “America’s Newsroom” that Trump’s Twitter attacks against Sessions were “mind-boggling” and “almost embarrassing.”

Rep. Pete King (R-N.Y.) also said on Wednesday that, although he understands where the president is coming from, he would not have attacked Sessions.

Gowdy, who is set to leave Congress after this year, has previously defended Robert Mueller, the special counsel heading the investigation into alleged ties between Trump campaign associates and Russia amid Moscow’s interference in the 2016 election.