U.S. Attorney John Lausch is being appointed to oversee the release of documents relating to the FBI's 2016 probe of Hillary Clinton, multiple news outlets are reporting.
Politico noted that word of Lausch's appointment by the Department of Justice comes as President Donald Trump and some GOP lawmakers have complained the DOJ has been slow-walking the release of the documents.
Lausch, who is the U.S. attorney for the northern district of Illinois, will be responsible for directing the department in combing through, redacting and releasing thousands of pages of documents requested by lawmakers, according to Politico.
"Mr. Lausch, who has experience in the Department and in private practice, will ensure that production moves at an acceptable pace and that any redactions are necessary and consistent under the relevant laws and regulations," said Justice Department spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores.
But Flores, in an interview on Fox News, defended the speed in which the documents are being released.
"I think that members of Congress and the president are understandably frustrated with the pace of production and some of the redactions that they are seeing," she said. "I think it's so important for the FBI and the department to have credibility with Congress, the president and American people."
She said it is prohibited by "federal rules of civil procedure for us to just turn over those documents to Congress. They could include grand jury material, classified material or something about ongoing investigations that are totally unrelated to Hillary Clinton."
And she added: "So, it's really important that we have to get these redactions right. And unfortunately, that just takes time. This morning we are turning over another 3,600 pages. And hopefully that will help members of Congress see we are absolutely moving through this process — not slow-walking it."
Along with Trump, Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., has complained about the time it is taking to release the documents.