Corsi files complaint with DOJ alleging misconduct in Mueller probe

Conspiracy theorist and conservative author Jerome Corsi on Monday released his complaint against special counsel Robert Mueller, alleging misconduct and wrongdoing in the course of his ongoing investigation.

The complaint, filed by his attorney Larry Klayman, the founder of conservative watchdogs Judicial Watch and Freedom Watch, requests that the Department of Justice (DOJ) open criminal and ethics probes into the conduct of Mueller and his staff.

Corsi confirmed to The Hill that the complaint has been officially filed with the Justice Department.

{mosads}“Special Counsel Mueller and his prosecutorial staff should respectfully be removed from his office and their practice of the law and a new Special Counsel appointed who respects and will obey common and accepted norms of professional ethics and the law and who will promptly conclude the so-called Russian collusion investigation which had been illegally and criminally spinning out of control,” the complaint reads in part.

A spokesperson for the special counsel’s office declined to comment on the complaint. The DOJ did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Hill.

Corsi has previously revealed that prosecutors offered him a plea deal that would allow him to avoid a prison sentence by pleading guilty to the charge of making false statements to investigators.

He has asserted that he does not believe that he knowingly lied to the special counsel, a claim reiterated in the complaint.

The complaint was also filed with the D.C. Bar’s Office of Disciplinary Counsel, requesting that they also investigate Mueller and his team for alleged violations of the bar’s rules of professional responsibility. The D.C. Bar declined to comment to The Hill on the complaint.

“In filing this Complaint, my client is not only standing up for his own legal and constitutional rights, but also those of the American people,” Klayman said in a statement on Monday. “This rogue government tyranny perpetrated by a Special Counsel and his prosecutorial staff, which is designed to effectively overthrow a duly elected president by coercing and extorting false testimony from Dr. Corsi and others, cannot be permitted in a civilized society.”

Klayman has previously been highly critical of the Mueller investigation. He went to court earlier this year over a public records request involving Mueller, asking for communications between the special counsel and the media be released.

It’s unclear at this time what kind of impact the complaint could have on the investigation, or if the DOJ will open up the requested probes. Other witnesses, including Roger Stone ally Andrew Miller, have previously gone to court to challenge the special counsel’s authority.

Former federal prosecutor Barbara McQuade told The Hill that it appears that Corsi is attempting to “go on the offense” with the complaint to avoid or disrupt a forthcoming indictment from the special counsel. She added that, considering a past plea deal offer from Mueller made public by Corsi, that it’s likely that the conservative author will face charges in the near future.

She also said that his allegations, including that investigators attempted to coerce Corsi into providing false testimony, would be better directed toward the Mueller investigation in a court case rather than attempting to have the DOJ pause the investigation — an outcome she said would be highly unlikely.

“I look at this and think it’s a desperate ploy by someone who knows he’s on the eve of indictment in an attempt to discredit the prosecution,” McQuade said.

–This report was updated at 12:11 p.m.