House Oversight Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte announced Monday evening the Department of Justice has agreed to turn over a number of previously withheld documents.
"The Committees have reached an agreement with the Department of Justice to access the documents we have been requesting for months. We look forward to reviewing the information to better understand the decisions made by the Department of Justice in 2016 and 2017," they released in a joint statement. "Congress has a constitutional responsibility to preserve the integrity of our justice system by ensuring transparency and accountability of actions taken."
The documents are related to the following investigations launched by each Committee:
-In October 2017, the Committees opened a joint investigation into the decisions made by the Department of Justice in 2016 and 2017.
-In December 2017, the Committees sent a follow-up letter requesting documents and information regarding the FBI's decision making in 2016 and 2017.
-On March 22, the House Judiciary Committee issued a subpoena to the Department of Justice for documents pursuant to the Committees' joint investigation.
-On April 11, Chairman Goodlatte and Chairman Gowdy met with U.S. Attorney John Lausch to discuss the Committees' access to documents related to our joint investigation.
The Department of Justice has been roundly criticized by Republicans for refusing to turn over relevant documents to Congress for months. Former Oversight Chairman Jason Chaffetz has said Attorney General Jeff Sessions is no different from former Attorney General Eric Holder when it comes to document production.