Maine Sen. Susan Collins on Sunday said she supports an “in-depth investigation” into former President Donald Trump’s Justice Department after reports surfaced that it subpoenaed information on House Democrats.
On Thursday, the New York Times reported that then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions subpoenaed Apple in 2017 and 2018 for the data belonging to California Rep. Adam Schiff, then-ranking member of the committee, as well as panel staff and family members amid a hunt for the sources of leaks about Trump associates and their ties to Russia. The Maine Republican said “two serious allegations” warrant an inquiry from President Joe Biden’s administration.
“There are two serious allegations here,” she told CBS News’s John Dickerson. “One has to do with whether or not there was a leak of classified information by members of Congress. But the second, which is also important, is, has the Justice Department abused its power by going after members of Congress or the press for partisan, political purposes?”
“And that’s why I support the deputy attorney general’s request that the inspector general of the Department of Justice do an in-depth investigation of both of these issues. That is really important,” she added.
PELOSI SAYS TRUMP-ERA SUBPOENAS GO ‘BEYOND RICHARD NIXON’ AS SHE VOWS TO INVESTIGATE
On Friday, the DOJ’s top watchdog, Michael Horowitz, announced an investigation has commenced into the activity of both Sessions and former Attorney General William Barr. The New York Times reported that records of “at least a dozen people tied to the” House Intelligence Committee were seized by DOJ authorities. Previous reports have also suggested that top brass in the Trump administration also sought seizures from journalists with the Washington Post, CNN, and the New York Times.
The revelations drew immediate scorn from congressional leadership, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Richard Durbin, who referred to the allegations as an “appalling politicization of the Department of Justice.” The pair also said at least one GOP member would have to be on board with the investigation into Sessions and Barr in order to subpoena the pair.
Collins, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee and an outspoken critic of Trump, may fill that void.
Also on Sunday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the accusations against the Trump administration go “beyond” the conduct of former President Richard Nixon. She expressed support for both former attorneys general to speak before Congress on the matter.
“What the Republicans did — what the administration did … goes even beyond Richard Nixon,” Pelosi told CNN‘s Dana Bash. “Richard Nixon had an enemies list. This is about undermining the rule of law, and for these attorneys general … or Sessions, at least, to say they, too, didn’t know anything about it is beyond belief.”
“So we will have to have them come under oath to testify about that,” she added.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
When asked if she’ll subpoena Sessions and Barr if they refuse to testify, the Democratic leader said, “Well, let’s hope that they will want to honor the rule of law.”
Sessions, Barr, and former Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein have denied knowledge of the subpoenas.
