Jerry Nadler’s Zipper Vs. The Horowitz Report

As this decade draws to a close, the political calendar for Monday will feature the Heavyweight Fight Card of Fat Jerry Nadler’s Zipper versus The Horowitz Report.

At 9:00 AM from the Longworth House Office Building, the House Judiciary Committee will hold its second impeachment hearing entitled “The Impeachment Inquiry into President Donald J. Trump:  Presentations from the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and House Judiciary Committee.”

Sometime Monday morning DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz's report into the FBI’s intrusive wiretapping powers will be made public.  Release of the IG’s report follows revelations in October that a related—and equally politically charged—examination of the origins of the Russia investigation has shifted to a criminal probe.

Horowitz, during the more than a year-and-a-half investigation, has not commented on his investigation into FISA court abuses to issue secret warrants by “dirty cops” to monitor persons within the Trump campaign during the 2016 presidential election.  Warrants were renewed several times by judges based on uncorroborated information obtained by disgraced British spy Christopher Steele and paid for by Hillary Clinton’s campaign.

Thus far, four Inspector General reports and internal Justice Department documents have found senior FBI officers guilty of lying, insubordination, security violations, mishandling confidential material and personal biases against President Trump.

Media outlets whose implicit agenda has been to damage this president have deliberately downplayed the significance of Horowitz’s report.

If you believe, as many do, the Democrats are governed by the clock and the calendar in moving forward with Articles of Impeachment the facts are these:

Lindsey Graham, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee sent a letter to Horowitz on November 18th inviting him to testify before the committee on his findings.  Horowitz agreed to the date authorized by Graham which he set for December 11, 2019.

Horowitz Cc’d his letter to Dianne Feinstein who is the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and to Jerry Nadler, Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.  In addition, copies were sent to Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI), Rep. Doug Collins (R-GA), Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI), Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) and Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH).

Horowitz gave assurances the “lengthy” report would be published with few redactions and without a need to prepare or issue “separate classified and public versions of the report.”

When asked if Chairman Nadler would hold a hearing on the FISA report once it is released, Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-TX) said, "No chance. Jerry Nadler is going to run, not walk, away from any opportunity to bring the Inspector General in to talk about these issues."

The ranking member on the Committee, Georgia Republican Doug Collins, has asked Nadler to schedule a hearing. "FISA oversight falls squarely within the Judiciary Committee’s jurisdiction. We must act swiftly to address concerns outlined in the Inspector General’s report," he wrote in a letter to Nadler.

“I’m not aware of any terrible problem with the FISA court and specifically not with the Carter Page application,” Nadler said.

More than two months later, a hearing focused on Horowitz's report has not been scheduled by the committee. A representative for Nadler did not respond to a request for comment.

Republican Reps. Jim Jordan and Mark Meadows also pressed House Oversight Committee Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney (she replaced Rep. Elijah Cummings who died recently) to hold a FISA report hearing, making the request in a letter. A representative for Maloney did not respond to a request for comment about whether such a hearing might be scheduled.