House Democrats are striking back, calling for the Justice Department to investigate the FBI for leaking information to benefit Donald Trump's presidential candidacy.
Rep. Elijah E. Cummings and Rep. John Conyers, Jr. wrote to Inspector General Michael Horowitz, citing information potentially leaked to former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who had foreshadowed a "surprise or two" last week.
Just days later, the FBI's James Comey sent a letter to lawmakers to announce they were going to investigate emails on Anthony Weiner's laptop as they might pertain to Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server.
"It is absolutely unacceptable for the FBI to leak unsubstantiated — and in some cases false — information about one presidential candidate to benefit the other candidate," the two senior House Democrats wrote to Horowitz. "Leaking this information to former FBI officials as a conduit to the Trump campaign is equally intolerable."
Cummings and Conyers, Jr., ranking members on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and House Judiciary Committee, pointed to Giuliani's admission on Fox News he "heard about" the investigation "about three or four weeks" before it was announced by Comey.
"These unauthorized and inaccurate leaks from within the FBI, particularly so close to a presidential election, are unprecedented," Cummings and Conyers wrote to the inspector general.
"For these reasons, we are calling on your office to conduct a thorough investigation to identify the sources of these and other leaks from the FBI and to recommend appropriate action."