WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The top U.S. law enforcement official said on Monday the Justice Department will make its policies for obtaining records of U.S. lawmakers more rigorous after revelations that former President Donald Trump\u2019s administration secretly secured data on members of Congress, journalists and a former White House lawyer.<\/p>\n
Attorney General Merrick Garland in a statement here also said that “political or other improper considerations must play no role in any investigative or prosecutorial decisions” and that anyone within the department who fails to live up to that principle “will be met with strict accountability.”<\/p>\n
Democratic congressional leaders on Sunday vowed to investigate the department\u2019s \u201crogue\u201d actions under Trump including its move to obtain the communications records of House of Representatives Democrats Adam Schiff and Eric Swalwell as part of a probe into leaks of classified information. Schiff and Swalwell both were critics of Trump, a Republican.<\/p>\n
Garland said he has instructed Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco \u201cto evaluate and strengthen the department\u2019s existing policies and procedures for obtaining records of the Legislative branch.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cConsistent with our commitment to the rule of law, we must ensure that full weight is accorded to separation-of-powers concerns moving forward,\u201d Garland added, referring to the constitutional system of checks and balances among the U.S. government\u2019s executive, judicial and legislative branches.<\/p>\n
The department\u2019s internal watchdog, Inspector General Michael Horowitz, on Friday said this office is launching a review of the use of subpoenas during Trump\u2019s administration to obtain the records of lawmakers and journalists and whether \u201cimproper considerations\u201d drove those decisions.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are important questions that must be resolved in connection with an effort by the department to obtain records related to Members of Congress and Congressional staff,\u201d Garland added.<\/p> Garland said that if action related to Horowitz\u2019s investigation is warranted, \u201cI will not hesitate to move swiftly.\u201d Garland also scheduled a meeting with officials from the New York Times, Washington Post and CNN to discuss the Trump Justice Department\u2019s seizure of phone records for journalists from the three news organizations.<\/p>\n Under former attorneys general William Barr and Jeff Sessions, the department was accused by Democrats of putting Trump\u2019s personal and political interests ahead of the law.<\/p>\n The Times on Thursday reported that under Trump the department subpoenaed Apple Inc for data on Schiff and Swalwell. Apple also told Donald McGahn, who served as White House counsel under Trump, that the department had subpoenaed information about him in 2018 and barred the company from telling him, the Times reported on Sunday.<\/p>\n Schiff said he has spoken with Garland and Monaco about the subpoena that sought his phone records.<\/p>\n \u201cI have every confidence they will also do the kind of top-to-bottom review of the degree to which the department was politicized during the previous administration and take corrective steps,\u201d Schiff said.<\/p>\n Schiff added that the department \u201ccan never be used to protect a president\u2019s friends or accomplices, or as a potential weapon against a president\u2019s perceived political enemies.\u201d<\/p>\n Mitch McConnell, the top Senate Republican, decried the investigation announced by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, both Democrats. Echoing Trump\u2019s language on previous investigations, McConnell called this one \u201ca witch hunt in the making.\u201d McConnell said on the Senate floor that Horowitz is \u201cfully equipped\u201d to investigate the matter without Congress also doing so.<\/p>\n John Demers, who heads the department\u2019s national security division and is a holdover from Trump\u2019s administration, is expected to leave his post by the end of next week, the Times reported on Monday.<\/p>\n