I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3028 

To require the Inspector General for the Department of Justice to conduct 

oversight of investigations of certain political officials, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 28, 2019 

Mr. BYRNE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To require the Inspector General for the Department of 

Justice to conduct oversight of investigations of certain 

political officials, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Investigate the Inves5 tigators Act of 2019’’. 

6 SEC. 2. OVERSIGHT OF CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS OF 

7 CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS. 

8 (a) ATTORNEY GENERAL NOTICE OF INVESTIGA9 TION.—In the case that a covered party is a subject of 

10 an investigation conducted by the Department of Justice, 


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1 the Attorney General shall provide to the Inspector Gen2 eral for the Department of Justice a notice of such inves3 tigation not later than 5 days after such investigation 

4 commences. 

5 (b) INSPECTOR GENERAL OVERSIGHT.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Inspector General for 

7 the Department of Justice shall immediately com8 mence an oversight investigation of the investigation 

9 described in subsection (a) to ensure that— 

10 (A) the decision to investigate the conduct 

11 of the covered party was not influenced by po12 litical pressures or politically motivated objec13 tives; 

14 (B) the conduct of the investigation is not 

15 influenced by the political beliefs or motives of 

16 any person engaged in the investigation or the 

17 superiors of such individuals; 

18 (C) evidence used in the investigation is 

19 obtained by lawful means and not tainted by 

20 political sources or motives; and 

21 (D) warrants sought in the investigation 

22 are supported by probable cause and in compli23 ance with all applicable law. 

24 (2) DURATION.—The oversight investigation 

25 shall be ongoing and continue at least until the inVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:11 Jun 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3028.IH H3028

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1 vestigation described in subsection (a) has been 

2 closed. 

3 (3) ACCESS TO MATERIALS.—Notwithstanding 

4 any other provision of law, the Attorney General 

5 shall make available to the Inspector General for the 

6 Department of Justice any materials that are rel7 evant to the investigation described in subsection 

8 (a). The Inspector General, in consultation with the 

9 Attorney General, shall ensure appropriate proce10 dures to safeguard any intelligence and counterintel11 ligence materials or other materials the disclosure of 

12 which would constitute a threat to national security. 

13 (4) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—For the purpose 

14 of carrying out this subsection, section 8E(a)(1)(A) 

15 of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. 

16 App.) shall not apply. 

17 (c) INSPECTOR GENERAL NOTICE OF INVESTIGATION

18 AND REPORT.— 

19 (1) NOTICE OF INVESTIGATION.— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—Upon opening of the 

21 investigation described in subsection (b), the In22 spector General shall notify each of the fol23 lowing individuals that an oversight investiga24 tion subject to this Act has commenced and 


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1 that a report will be issued at the conclusion of 

2 the Investigation pursuant to this Act: 

3 (i) The President of the United 

4 States. 

5 (ii) The Speaker of the House of Rep6 resentatives. 

7 (iii) The Minority Leader of the 

8 House of Representatives. 

9 (iv) The Senate Majority Leader. 

10 (v) The Senate Minority Leader. 

11 (B) EXCEPTION.—Notwithstanding sub12 paragraph (A), the Inspector General for the 

13 Department of Justice may decline to submit 

14 notice or any other information to an individual 

15 described in clauses (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), and (v) 

16 of such subparagraph if— 

17 (i) the individual is a subject of the 

18 investigation described in subsection (a); 

19 and 

20 (ii) the Inspector General determines 

21 that submitting a copy to the individual 

22 would compromise the investigation. 

23 (2) REPORT.— 

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days 

25 after the conclusion of the investigation deVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:11 Jun 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3028.IH H3028

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1 scribed in subsection (b), the Inspector General 

2 for the Department of Justice shall submit to 

3 the Attorney General and each individual de4 scribed in clauses (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), and (v) of 

5 paragraph (1)(A) a report on the Inspector 

6 General’s findings with respect to the oversight 

7 investigation contained in subsection (b). 

8 (B) IMMEDIATE REPORT ON FLAGRANT OR

9 SERIOUS ISSUES.—During the course of the in10 vestigation, if the Attorney General fails within 

11 30 days to remedy a serious or flagrant issue 

12 raised by the Inspector General, the Inspector 

13 General shall make an immediate report to the 

14 individuals described in clauses (i), (ii), (iii), 

15 (iv), and (v) of paragraph (1)(A) with respect 

16 to the serious or flagrant issue. 

17 (C) CONFIDENTIALITY.— 

18 (i) An individual receiving a report 

19 under subparagraph (A) or (B) may not 

20 make available to the public or otherwise 

21 disclose the contents of the report to any 

22 individual other than the Attorney General 

23 or an individual described in clauses (i), 

24 (ii), (iii), (iv), and (v) of paragraph (1)(A), 

25 except in the case that the individual reVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:11 Jun 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3028.IH H3028

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1 ceiving the report certifies to the Attorney 

2 General that it is his or her belief that dis3 closure is necessary to uphold the Con4 stitution or maintain the integrity of the 

5 political system of the United States. 

6 (ii) An individual who knowingly and 

7 willfully violates clause (i) shall be pun8 ished as if under section 798 of title 18, 

9 United States Code. 

10 (D) RELEASE BY THE ATTORNEY GEN11 ERAL.—The Attorney General may release the 

12 report after making a determination that public 

13 release of the report would be in the public in14 terest, to the extent that release would comply 

15 with applicable legal restrictions. All other re16 leases of information by any Department of 

17 Justice employee, including the Office of Gen18 eral Inspector staff, shall be governed by the 

19 applicable Departmental guidelines concerning 

20 public comment with respect to any criminal in21 vestigation, and relevant law. 

22 (d) COVERED PARTY DEFINED.—In this Act, the 

23 term ‘‘covered party’’ means— 

24 (1) the President; 

25 (2) the Vice President; 


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1 (3) a Senator; 

2 (4) a Member of Congress; or 

3 (5) a candidate for an office described in para4 graph (1), (2), (3), or (4) or the campaign of such 

5 candidate. 

6 SEC. 3. OVERSIGHT OF PREVIOUS INVESTIGATIONS OF 

7 CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after the 

9 date of enactment of this Act, in the case that a Presi10 dential candidate or his or her campaign was the subject 

11 of an investigation during the period described in sub12 section (d), the Attorney General shall review the inves13 tigation to determine whether— 

14 (1) the decision to investigate the conduct of 

15 the covered party was influenced by political pres16 sures or politically motivated objectives; 

17 (2) the conduct of the investigation was influ18 enced by the political beliefs or motives of any per19 son engaged in the investigation or the superiors of 

20 such individuals; 

21 (3) evidence used in the investigation was ob22 tained by lawful means and not tainted by political 

23 sources or motives; and 


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1 (4) warrants obtained or sought in the inves2 tigation were supported by probable cause and were 

3 in compliance with all applicable law. 

4 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 

5 of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall make 

6 available to the public a report on the result of the review 

7 under subsection (a) after any necessary redactions to 

8 comply with applicable legal restrictions. 

9 (c) APPLICABLE PERIOD.—This section shall apply 

10 with respect to any investigation that commenced during 

11 the period beginning on June 16, 2015 and ending on 

12 March 22, 2019. 

Æ 


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