Jim Jordan Subpoena Garland

December 19, 2023
The Honorable Merrick B. Garland

Attorney General
U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20530
Dear Attorney General Garland:
The Committee on the Judiciary is conducting oversight of the Justice Department’s use
of its law-enforcement authority to obtain the private communications of Members of Congress
and congressional staff members.1 On October 31, 2023, we wrote to you to request information
from the Justice Department regarding the Department’s subpoenas to obtain private
communications of Legislative Branch employees.2 Due to the Department’s inadequate
response to date, the Committee must resort to compulsory process.
On November 8, the Department informed the Committee via e-mail of “a change to the
Department of Justice’s policies and procedures in criminal investigations involving Members of
Congress and their staff” that “impose[s] new requirements to consult with, or receive approval
from, the Public Integrity Section.”3 This communication, however, provided no update on the
status of the Department’s response to our October 31 letter. After receiving no subsequent
information from the Department, on November 28, 2023, the Committee wrote to you again
reiterating our requests and requesting material relating to the Department’s policy changes as
announced on November 7.4
On December 4, 2023, the Department finally provided a response to our letter of

October 31, offering a timeline and a brief description of the Department’s recent policy changes
1
See Margot Cleveland, DOJ Subpoenaed Phone And Email Logs Of Hill Staffers Probing Crossfire Hurricane
Malfeasance, THE FEDERALIST (Oct. 25, 2023).
2
Letter from Rep. Jim Jordan, Chairman, H. Comm. on the Judiciary, to Hon. Merrick B. Garland, Att’y Gen., U.S.
Dep’t of Justice (Oct. 31, 2023).
3
E-mail from Office of Leg. Affairs, U.S Dep’t of Justice, to H. Comm. on the Judiciary (Nov. 8, 2023), see also
Ben Penn, DOJ Tightens Rules for Prosecutors When Probing Congress, BLOOMBERG LAW (Nov. 8, 2023).
4
Letter from Rep. Jim Jordan, Chairman, H. Comm. on the Judiciary, to Hon. Merrick B. Garland, Att’y Gen., U.S.
Dep’t of Justice (Nov. 28, 2023); see also Deputy Attorney General, Policies and Procedures in Criminal
Investigations Involving Members of Congress and Staff, U.S. Dep’t of Justice (Nov. 7, 2023).
December 19, 2023
Page 2
for investigations involving Members of Congress and congressional staff.5 In response to the
Committee’s request, the Department provided only two publicly available documents
concerning the indictment and guilty plea of a Senate Select Intelligence Committee (SSCI) staff
member.6 The Department produced no other documents responsive to the Committee’s requests.
In its letter to the Committee, the Department represented that the legal process used—
which reportedly sought the private communications of both Republican and Democrat
employees in both the House and the Senate7—were related to one investigation “into the
unauthorized disclosure of classified information in a national media publication.”8 According to
news reports, this investigation centered on FISA warrants obtained by the Justice Department on
former Trump campaign associate Carter Page.9 At the time, the FISA warrant on Mr. Page was
the subject of robust Congressional oversight and vigorous debate in Congress.10 The Justice
Department Office of Inspector General later determined that the Department abused its FISA
authority to surveil Mr. Page,11 and the Department admitted there was “insufficient predication”
for the warrant.12
If the Department’s representation is accurate, it indicates that the Executive Branch used
its immense law-enforcement authority to gather and search the private communications of
multiple Legislative Branch employees who were conducting Constitutional oversight of the
Department’s investigative actions—actions that were later found to be unlawful. Because the
Department has not complied in full with our requests, we cannot independently determine
whether the Department sought to alleviate the heightened separation-of-powers sensitivities
involved or whether the Department first sought the information through other means before
resorting to legal process. The Committee also has concerns that aspects of the Department's
investigation may have been a pretext to justify piercing the Legislative Branch’s deliberative
process and improperly access data from Members and staff involved in conducting oversight of
the Department.
The Supreme Court has recognized that Congress has a “broad and indispensable” power
to conduct oversight, which “encompasses inquiries into the administration of existing laws,
studies of proposed laws, and surveys in our social, economic or political system for the purpose
5
Letter from Carlos Uriarte, Assistant Att’y Gen., U.S. Dep’t of Justice, to Rep. Jim Jordan, Chairman, H. Comm.
on the Judiciary (Dec. 4, 2023); see also E-mail from H. Comm. on the Judiciary to Off. of Legis. Affairs, U.S.
Dept’ of Justice (Nov. 15, 2023) (discussing the Department’s plan for responding to the Committee’s request after
missing the deadline); E-mail from Off. of Legis. Affairs, U.S. Dept’ of Justice, to H. Comm. on the Judiciary (Nov.
17, 2023).
6
Id.
7
The Editorial Board, When the Justice Department Spied on Congress, WALL ST. J. (Oct. 26, 2023).
8
Letter from Carlos Uriarte, Assistant Att’y Gen., U.S. Dep’t of Justice, to Rep. Jim Jordan, Chairman, H. Comm.
on the Judiciary (Dec. 4, 2023).
9
See, e.g., Josh Gerstein, Ex-Senate aide gets 2 months in prison for lying to FBI, POLITICO (Dec. 20, 2018).
10
FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE SURVEILLANCE ACT ABUSES AT THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE AND THE BUREAU OF
INVESTIGATION, H. PERMANENT SELECT COMM. ON INTEL. (January 18, 2018); Del Quentin Wilber, Carter Page
Surveillance Documents Set Off New Skirmish, WALL ST. J (July 22, 2018).
11
U.S. DEP’T. OF JUSTICE, OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GEN., REVIEW OF FOUR FISA APPLICATIONS AND OTHER ASPECTS
OF THE FBI’S CROSSFIRE HURRICANE INVESTIGATION (2019).
12
In re Carter W. Page, Nos. 16-1182, 17-52, 17-375, 17-679 (FISC Jan. 7, 2020).
December 19, 2023
Page 3
of enabling Congress to remedy them.”13 Pursuant to the Rules of the House of Representatives,
the Committee on the Judiciary has jurisdiction to conduct oversight of the Justice Department to
inform potential legislative reforms that protect civil liberties and prevent the Department from
misusing its law-enforcement authorities.14
Potential legislative reforms the Committee may consider include, among other
proposals, establishing certain requirements for the Justice Department to provide appropriate
notice when it seeks to access private information belonging to an employee of the Legislative
Branch. The Committee may also consider legislative proposals to reform how often the
Department may request an extension on a non-disclosure order without providing a compelling
justification for the continued secrecy. The information we have requested regarding the
Department’s use of legal process to obtain the private communications of Members of Congress
and congressional staff members is necessary to inform such potential legislation.
Accordingly, please find attached a subpoena for the requested documents and
information.
Sincerely,
Jim Jordan
Chairman
cc: The Honorable Jerrold L. Nadler, Ranking Member
Enclosure
13
See, e.g., Trump v. Mazars LLP, 140 S. Ct. 2019, 2031 (2020) (internal quotation marks and citations omitted).
14
Rules of the House of Representatives, R. X, 118th Cong. (2023).

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December 19, 2023

The Honorable Merrick B. Garland

Dear Attorney General Garland:

On December 4, 2023, the Department finally provided a response to our letter of

cc: The Honorable Jerrold L. Nadler, Ranking Member

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