'This is a gross abuse of power and an assault on the separation of powers,' Senate leaders Chuck Schumer and Dick Durbin said in a joint statement.
Prosecutors were reportedly looking for the sources behind news stories about contacts between Russia and Trump associates.said inquiries began under Sessions, Trump's first attorney general, but hit a roadblock when data and other evidence found no ties between the committee and the media leaks. Barr, who replaced Sessions after he was forced out of the administration, later revived the investigations.
An exterior view of the U.S. Department of Justice headquarters, July 25, 2017 in Washington, D.C. Democrats are demanding former attorneys general Bill Barr and Jeff Sessions testify under oath after it was reported that the Justice Department seized lawmakers’ data during the Trump administration.
"Though we were informed by the Department in May that this investigation is closed, I believe more answers are needed, which is why I believe the Inspector General should investigate this and other cases that suggest the weaponization of law enforcement by a corrupt president," Schiff said in a statement.
Representative Eric Swalwell said he was also notified that his data had been subpoenaed and supported Schiff's call for the inspector general to launch an investigation. "Like many of the world's most despicable dictators, former President Trump showed an utter disdain for our democracy and the rule of law," Swalwell wrote in a
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