At least one of the senior officials used official DOJ social media accounts to repost links to the articles after leaking the information to select reporters.
The Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General released a report on Monday revealing that three senior DOJ officials allegedly leaked information to the media in an attempt to damage Donald Trump before the 2024 presidential election. The three senior DOJ officials are under investigation for potential Hatch Act violations. Official DOJ policy prohibits its employees from disclosing information about ongoing matters.
At least one of the senior officials used official DOJ social media accounts to repost links to the articles after leaking the information to select reporters.
The summary of the investigation stated: "The Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) initiated an investigation after receiving allegations that actions by a litigating division were politically motivated and violated DOJ policies regarding disclosing information about ongoing matters."
"The OIG investigation found that three then Senior DOJ Officials violated DOJ's Confidentiality and Media Contacts Policy by leaking to select reporters, days before an election, non-public DOJ investigative information regarding ongoing DOJ investigative matters, resulting in the publication of two news articles that included the non-public DOJ investigative information. The OIG investigation also found that one of these three then Senior DOJ Officials violated the Confidentiality and Media Contacts Policy and DOJ's Social Media Policy by reposting through a DOJ social media account links to the news articles," the report continued.
The report concluded, "The OIG also provided its report to the US Office of Special Counsel, which has exclusive jurisdiction to investigate alleged Hatch Act violations, for its consideration of whether the conduct of these officials violated the Hatch Act."
The Office of the Inspector General did not reveal in the report which confidential information had been leaked to the press, or which publications received the information. Breitbart News noted that Senator Chuck Grassley slammed the Department of Justice in an August letter after the Washington Post published an article about Trump being investigated for allegedly receiving $10 million from Egyptian president Abdel Fateh el-Sisi during the 2016 election. The Washington Post cited "classified US intelligence" in its reporting.
The Trump-Egyptian president investigation had already been abandoned due to lack of evidence. The investigation was initiated by former FBI director Robert Mueller.
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