Grassley Remarks on Crossfire Investigation at Senate Judiciary Executive Business Meeting

 

I’d like to return to an issue that I’ve raised many times this year: this committee’s failure to assert its oversight power over the Justice Department. Chairman Durbin, at this committee’s December 9, 2021, Executive Business Meeting you mentioned creating a list of outstanding oversight requests.

 

As I noted at our January 13, 2022, meeting, that week Republican members transmitted a list of outstanding Department requests to you for a second time. To-date, there’s been no further movement from this committee to get answers and records, as far as I know.

 

At the top of that list is a joint request from me and Senator Johnson. We’ve asked the Biden Justice Department a very simple question: Where are the records that were declassified pursuant to Trump’s January 2021 declassification directive on Crossfire Hurricane?

 

After more than one year, still no concrete answer from the Department.

 

On a related matter, I’d like to note the news from Durham’s filing last week and over the past several months. For years, this country had to listen to my colleagues on the other side of the aisle and the liberal media scream Trump/Russia collusion. We know that to be a false narrative.

 

Since late 2016, I’ve engaged in oversight of Crossfire Hurricane.  Some of my colleagues have as well. In almost six years, we’ve exposed government wrongdoing and private sector wrongdoing. The Justice Department Inspector General’s report exposed even more wrongdoing.

 

Simply put, the Department and FBI misrepresented information to the FISA court. Durham must ensure those responsible are held to account.

 

Based on the available evidence, it’s clear that the real collusion occurred between the Clinton campaign and Russian interests. The available facts show that the Clinton Campaign abused federal government contracts to exploit government information to use against Trump. Based on the available evidence, the Clinton campaign was the master of disinformation about Trump. The Clinton campaign was the conspiracy. 

 

I’ve talked about all this before, most recently in my floor speech on Tuesday this week. 

 

When I started my oversight on this matter, I had no idea where it would go. Unlike the mainstream media, my interest was in the facts and the evidence. My attitude was and is: The American people deserve to know the truth, one way or the other. And my goodness, when it comes to Crossfire Hurricane, the truth is ugly.

 

But, that’s why oversight is so important.  That’s why I’ve worked to hold every administration accountable to We the People. Which leads me to where I started today. 

 

The Biden Justice Department has a lot to answer for, and it’s deliberately hiding information from this committee and the American people. I challenge my Democratic colleagues to use the same oversight effort on the Biden Justice Department that I used on the Trump Justice Department.