Three senior Justice Department officials were found to have violated internal policies and engaged in misconduct by leaking details about a non-public investigation to the media just days before an election, according to the agency’s inspector general. The Office of the Inspector General launched a probe after receiving a complaint about a politically motivated disclosure related to ongoing matters in the lead-up to an unspecified election. The investigation found that the officials leaked non-public DOJ investigative information, resulting in the publication of two news articles containing the confidential details.
The OIG investigation also revealed that one of the officials violated both the Confidentiality and Media Contacts Policy and the DOJ’s Social Media Policy by reposting links to the news articles on a DOJ social media account. The three officials were no longer employed by the DOJ at the time of the investigation and did not respond to interview requests. The OIG does not have the authority to compel testimony from former employees, but the findings were provided to the Deputy Attorney General’s office for appropriate action.
The investigation that the former DOJ employees leaked to media outlets remains undisclosed. Senator Chuck Grassley previously wrote a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland and FBI Director Christopher Wray, accusing the DOJ and FBI of leaking information to the media about a closed investigation into President-elect Donald Trump. The probe involved allegations that Egyptian President Abdel Fatah El-Sisi attempted to support Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign with $10 million. The investigation was closed due to lack of evidence but was reported by the Washington Post in August 2024.
Following the November 2024 election, Grassley sent another letter to various officials to ensure that records related to investigations into Trump were preserved. He expressed concerns about past destruction of federal records related to investigations such as Mueller’s probe and demanded safeguarding of all records. Trump has accused special counsel Jack Smith, who led the investigations into classified documents and 2020 election interference involving him, of leaking details to the media. Smith had indicted Trump, but the case was dismissed by a federal judge.
Trump has a history of being involved in leaks, including during the FBI’s probe into alleged collusion between Russia and his campaign leading to investigations by bodies such as the OIG. Former FBI director James Comey was referred for prosecution for leaking internal memos to the media, but the DOJ chose not to bring charges. Additionally, a corruption probe into Senator Bob Menendez was leaked months before his indictment in September 2023, impacting his decision to run for re-election. The DOJ OIG declined to comment on the matter.
