‘true attack on our democracy’

Senate Republicans are sounding the alarm this week about bombshell revelations that the Justice Department surveilled congressional staff probing the FBI’s Trump-Russia investigation in 2017.

Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) expressed “deep concern” in a Wednesday letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland about the DOJ’s “covert surveillance of the personal communications of attorneys advising congressional oversight committees.”

“The decision by unelected government bureaucrats to investigate the elected congressional representatives and congressional staff trying to hold them accountable is a true attack on our democracy,” the GOP senators wrote.

Empower Oversight revealed on Oct. 24 that a DC federal judge had approved a subpoena of Google on Sept. 12, 2017, for the private cell phone and email communications of Empower founder Jason Foster, then the chief investigative counsel for Grassley.

The subpoena came as Foster was assisting Grassley, then the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, in conducting oversight of Crossfire Hurricane — the FBI’s investigation of alleged links between the 2016 Trump campaign and Russian officials.

Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz later produced a report documenting various abuses by FBI agents in the process of obtaining warrants to surveil Trump campaign adviser Carter Page, as well as in the use of the now-infamous Steele dossier.

In a request sent to the Justice Department under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), Foster charged that the subpoena also sought records from House and Senate staffers from both parties who were engaged in oversight of the DOJ.

“While FOIA requests serve as a valuable tool for transparency, it is evident that in matters of such magnitude such as the one here, additional measures must be taken to ensure openness and accountability,” Cruz, Lee and Grassley told Garland.

“Notwithstanding the investigation by the Department’s Inspector General, Congress is entitled to conduct its own parallel review of this important matter.”

The Republican senators asked for the attorney general to come forward by Nov. 22 with the names of any other members and staff whose communications were sought or obtained — as well as the DOJ officials who signed off on the subpoenas.

They have also asked for “the specific predicate, criteria, or evidence that justified the Department’s seeking of grand jury subpoenas,” whether there was a legal basis and whether then-Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein was made aware or involved in the efforts.

In June 2018, Fox News reported that Rosenstein had threatened to subpoena the personal records of all staffers on the House intelligence committee during a showdown that January over the Justice Department’s failure to comply with Congress’ investigation.

Other requests from Cruz, Grassley and Lee include details about which companies were subpoenaed for the data — including Google, Apple, Verizon and AT&T.

“This extensive and far-reaching effort to use grand jury subpoenas and perhaps other means to gather the personal communications records of congressional staffers and their families with little or no legitimate predicate is absolutely unacceptable,” the senators said.

“The executive branch overreach and gross violation of separation of powers apparent in this case no doubt shocks the conscience and shakes public confidence in our justice system to its core. The public deserves answers.”