Justice Department officials who served under President-elect Trump’s first administration may have influenced the 2020 presidential election through intentional media leaks targeted at Democratic state governors over COVID-19 related probes, according to a report released by the department’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG).
Inspector General Michael Horowitz pointed to three senior Trump officials’ federal pursuit of pandemic-related negligence cases that spiked death rates in nursing homes located in Pennsylvania, Michigan, New York and New Jersey. The trio, according to the report released Tuesday, prematurely disclosed the findings to the New York Post in “a last play” before the election.
The outlet, according to the OIG, published an article before officials in New Jersey and New York were informed of the Justice Departments’s (DOJ) investigations. The Wall Street Journal was also accused of publishing information leaked by officials.
“These news reports (and others) quoted unnamed Department officials and referenced non-public information, including some information that had been included in draft DOJ letters and press releases, which information certain DOJ officials objected to including and which information was never released, other than by the leaks,” the report states.
Horowitz said the officials’ actions likely violated the Hatch Act and has referred his findings to the U.S. Office of Special Counsel for further review.
Then-New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) questioned the circumstances as they were occurring and is now calling for justice under the law.
“This blockbuster report confirms what we’ve said all along: The federal government corrupted and misused the Department of Justice to influence the 2020 presidential election — and in the process weaponized the real pain of those who lost loved ones to COVID in a nursing home for their own craven electoral gain,” Cuomo spokesman Rich Azzopardi said in a statement obtained by The Hill.
“These findings lay bare the truth: New York and other Democratic states were targeted by the federal government for no other reason than to interfere with a presidential election, nursing homes in other states had much worse quality of care issues with COVID, and guidance issued in New York and other democratic states conformed with federal CDC [Center for Disease Control] and CMS [Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services] guidelines,” the statement reads.
Azzopardi added, “Those involved in this blatant weaponization of the Department of Justice for political gain should be held accountable to the furthest extent of the law.”
Trump’s spokesperson did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
However, the president-elect has long accused the Biden administration of using the DOJ as a tool for political vengeance, consistently floating claims that his federal court cases were motivated by his critics.
Trump is currently requesting his own federal investigation records be sealed by Attorney General Merrick Garland after special counsel Jack Smith dropped his election interference and classified documents cases, citing Trump’s win in the 2024 election and a standing DOJ policy that prevents prosecution against a sitting president.
Garland agreed to block the release of the report around the documents but said he would release the findings from the case related to Trump’s attempt to remain in power after losing the 2020 election to President Biden.
Smith is expected to resign from the agency before the president-elect returns to the White House later this month.
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