Rep. Jason Chaffetz said in a statement that he had previously asked DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz to “review the FBI’s actions in advance of the 2016 election.” | AP Photo Chaffetz requests DOJ IG expands probe to include Comey firing

Rep. Jason Chaffetz said Wednesday he's asked a Department of Justice inspector general looking into the FBI's behavior in the run-up to the 2016 election to expand its scope and include the firing of FBI Director James Comey.

“I request that you expand the scope of your office's ongoing review of allegations regarding certain actions by the Department of Justice and the FBI in advance of the 2016 election to include the facts and circumstances surrounding the removal of Director Comey,” Chaffetz wrote in a letter to Inspector General Michael Horowitz.


Citing Trump’s letter informing Comey of his termination, Chaffetz said Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein had based their recommendations on Comey’s “decision to publicize the results of the FBI's investigation of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton last year, among other things.”

“You separately stated ‘if circumstances warrant, the OIG will consider including other issues that may arise during the course of the review.’ The recommendation to remove Comey indeed warrants such consideration,” Chaffetz added in his letter to Horowitz.

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The House Oversight Committee chairman said in a statement that he had previously asked Horowitz to “review the FBI’s actions in advance of the 2016 election.”

“I look forward to receiving the IG's findings,” he said.



A spokesman for Horowitz or a spokesman for Justice's inspector general declined to comment on Chaffetz's letter.



Chaffetz, a Utah Republican, announced last month that he would not seek reelection to Congress in 2018.