WASHINGTON _ President Donald Trump has added "disgraceful" to the list of insults he's thrown at his own attorney general. But this time Jeff Sessions, the nation's top lawman, is pushing back.
Trump, who has shredded longstanding norms by repeatedly attacking his own FBI and Justice Department, on Wednesday tweeted his unhappiness that Sessions had referred charges raised in a memo by House Intelligence Committee Republicans to the Justice Department's inspector general.
"Will take forever, has no prosecutorial power and already late with reports on Comey etc." the president complained, referring to an ongoing review of the former FBI director's actions during the 2016 election.
He added a slap at Michael Horowitz, the inspector general: "Isn't the IG an Obama guy? Why not use Justice Department lawyers? DISGRACEFUL!"
Sessions, who remained stoic after past Trump twitter storms calling him "beleaguered" and "weak," on Wednesday flashed a trace of defiance.
"We have initiated the appropriate process that will ensure complaints against this Department will be fully and fairly acted upon if necessary," he said in a statement issued by the Justice Department.
"As long as I am the Attorney General, I will continue to discharge my duties with integrity and honor, and this department will continue to do its work in a fair and impartial manner according to the law and Constitution," he added.
At issue is a dispute over whether the Justice Department and the FBI acted improperly in obtaining a secret surveillance warrant to eavesdrop on Carter Page, a former foreign policy adviser to the Trump campaign, starting a month before the 2016 election.
The allegations were contained in a four-page memo written by staff working under Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., who chairs the House Intelligence Committee. The memo was released Feb. 2 even though the FBI said it had "grave concerns" about the accuracy of it.
On Saturday, Democrats on the House committee released a 10-page rebuttal that argued the FBI had conducted a legitimate counterintelligence investigation of a suspected Russian agent. It said three separate judges, all Republicans, had renewed the original warrant against Page.
On Tuesday, Sessions told reporters that the dispute, which focuses on an application submitted to a secret surveillance court, had been referred to the inspector general's office for review.
"We believe the Department of Justice must adhere to the highest standards" in dealings with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act court, he said.
Under federal law and Justice Department protocol, the inspector general's office investigates most charges of internal wrongdoing, including corruption and other criminal behavior. Charges of improper conduct by government attorneys are handled by a different office, the Office of Professional Responsibility.
The inspector general's office has handled serious scandals involving the department, including the Fast and Furious operation that resulted in federal authorities allowing guns to flow to Mexican cartels.
Horowitz was appointed to the job by President Barack Obama and confirmed in 2012. Before that, he was appointed to the U.S. Sentencing Commission by President George W. Bush, and he has years of experience in federal investigations during both the Clinton and Bush administrations.
A spokesman for the inspector general declined to comment on Trump's tweet, or say whether the office would take up the dispute over the memo. The office has previously said that it will release its report on Comey's actions in March or April.
