The Justice Department inspector general says he has recovered missing text messages from two senior FBI officials who investigated both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump and exchanged notes critical of the president.
?"5333 US. Department of usticc
3 (Mike 01? the General
January 25, 2018
The Honorable Ron Johnson
Chairman
Committee on Homeland Security
and Governmental Affairs
340 Dirksen Senate Of?ce Building
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510
The Honorable Charles E. Grassley
Chairman
Committee on the Judiciary
224 Dirksen Senate Of?ce Building
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Chairmen Johnson and Grassley:
Thank you for your letter dated January 23, 2018, in which you requested
information regarding the Federal Bureau of Investigation?s (FBI) preservation of
text messages for FBI employees Lisa Page and Peter Strzok. You requested a
response by January 29, 2018.
I understand that in its letter to you dated January 19, 2018, the
Department of Justice (Department) reported that the technical system for
retaining text messages sent from or to FBI?issued mobile devices failed to
capture text messages between Ms. Page and Mr. Strzok during the period from
December 14, 2016, to May 17, 2017. The Of?ce of the Inspector General (OIG)
had similarly been advised by the FBI that this failure prevented the FBI from
producing to the OIG text messages between Ms. Page and Mr. Strzok during the
period from December 14, 2016, to May 17, 2017.
The OIG has been investigating this matter and, this week, succeeded in
using forensic tools to recover text messages from FBI devices, including text
messages between Mr. Strzok and Ms. Page that were sent or received between
December 14, 2016, and May 17, 2017. Our effort to recover any additional text
messages is ongoing. We will provide copies of the text messages that we recover
from these devices to the Department so that the Department?s leadership can
take any management action it deems appropriate. Proceeding in this manner
is consistent with the process for handling Department information. As I
have noted with respect to other Department information produced to the OIG
by the Department as part of our review, I would have no objection to the
Department providing its own records to your Committees in response to a
Congressional oversight request should Department leadership deem it
appropriate to do so, and consistent with applicable law and Department policy.
I h0pe this information is helpful to the Committees and that it serves to
clarify my letter to you dated December 13, 2017. Consistent with the
practice, I look forward to providing the Department, Congress, and the public
with a report detailing our ?ndings, which will be responsive to additional
questions in your letter, as soon as our work has been completed. We also would
be pleased to discuss with your Committees Whether the OIG has the necessary
authorities, resources, and capabilities to obtain this type of evidentiary
information.
Sincerely,
Michael E. Horowitz
Inspector General
cc: The Honorable Claire McCaskill
Ranking Member, Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs
0
The Honorable Dianne Feinstein
Ranking Member, Committee on the Judiciary
The Honorable Trey Gowdy
Chairman, Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
The Honorable Elijah Cummings
Ranking Member, Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
The Honorable Bob Goodlatte
Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary
The Honorable Jerrold Nadler
Ranking Member, Committee on the Judiciary
The Honorable Richard Shelby
Chairman, Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science,
and Related Agencies
Committee on Appropriations
The Honorable Jeanne Shaheen
Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science,
and Related Agencies
Committee on ApprOpriations
The Honorable John Culberson
Chairman, Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science,
and Related Agencies
Committee on Appropriations
The Honorable Jos? Serrano
Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science,
and Related Agencies
Committee on Appropriations
The Honorable Rod J. Rosenstein
Deputy Attorney General
The Honorable Christopher A. Wray
Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation