By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com
Top Senate Republicans are calling on the Justice Department to investigate whether special counsel Robert Mueller and his team violated federal record-keeping laws by erasing their official cell phones of data.
In a letter to the FBI and Justice Department, Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, also is requesting the Justice Department to determine whether the deleted data can be recovered.
“It appears that Special Counsel Mueller’s team may have deleted federal records that could be key to better understanding their decision-making process as they pursued their investigation and wrote their report,” Grassley wrote. “Indeed, many officials apparently deleted the records after the DOJ Inspector General began his inquiry into how the Department mishandled Crossfire Hurricane. Moreover, based on this new information, the number of times and the stated reasons for the deletions calls into question whether or not it was a widespread intentional effort.”
A Freedom of Information Act request revealed that at least 15 phones used during the Russia investigation were wiped of information.
Homeland Homeland Security Committee Chairman Ron Johnson requested an investigation by the Justice Department’s inspector general.
On Twitter, President Trump compared the matter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton deleting thousands of emails off a private server.
“ALERT: So now we find out that the entire Mueller ‘hit squad’ illegally wiped their phones clean just prior to the investigation of them, all using the same really dumb reason for this ‘accident’, just like Crooked Hillary smashing her phones with a hammer, & DELETING HER EMAILS!” Trump tweeted early Saturday morning.
….It has now been determined that the Mueller Scam should never have been set up in the first place, there were no grounds. It was all an illegitimate Witch Hunt, & a big price must be paid. How different my life would have been if this fraud on America was never committed!!!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 12, 2020
