Judicial Watch Requests DOJ IG Investigate Leaks to CNN and BuzzFeed

(Washington, DC) – Judicial Watch announced that it sent an official complaint to the Justice Department’s Office of Inspector General (IG) calling for investigations into leaks of information about Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation. The complaint asks for an investigation of any leaks to CNN about the controversial raid on the home of Roger Stone and for leaks to BuzzFeed suggesting that President Trump directed Michael Cohen to lie to Congress.

On January 25, 2019, CNN was the only media outlet to be present and shooting exclusive footage of the SWAT-team type raid by the FBI when it arrested former Trump associate Roger Stone at his home in Florida. Though CNN has claimed that its being on site in the dark of night was merely a matter of “good instincts,” Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker told a congressional committee last week that “It was deeply concerning to me as to how CNN found out about that.”

In its complaint, Judicial Watch points out that an Inspector General investigation is required due to an apparent violation of “Limited Official Use” information, which is “unclassified information of a sensitive, proprietary or personally private nature which must be protected against release to unauthorized individuals, and this term is prescribed for use within the Department to signify such information.”

On January 17, 2019, BuzzFeed published an article titled “President Trump Directed His Attorney Michael Cohen To Lie To Congress About the Moscow Tower Project.” In the article, the authors reveal that they were given information “according to two federal law enforcement officials involved in an investigation of the matter.” Mueller’s office, in a rare public rebuke, later disputed the story:

BuzzFeed’s description of specific statements to the Special Counsel’s Office, and characterization of documents and testimony obtained by this office, regarding Michael Cohen’s Congressional testimony are not accurate.

In its complaint, Judicial Watch asks for an investigation into the BuzzFeed question and “equal application of the law,” considering “former FBI Director James Comey launched a federal leak investigation following comments made by former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani … suggesting that he had advance knowledge gleaned from federal agents of the reopening of the Hillary Clinton email server investigation resulting from the discovery of Mrs. Clinton’s emails on Anthony Weiner’s laptop.”

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