It’s time for Department of Justice (DOJ) investigators to release “some kind of interim report” reviewing the misconduct of former Associate Deputy Attorney General Bruce Ohr and other top officials because Americans are “entitled” to know, former federal prosecutor Andrew McCarthy said on Fox News’ “The Ingraham Angle” Wednesday.

“I’m all for investigative integrity and investigative secrecy. But at a certain point, I think we’re entitled to know: What are they looking at, what have they come up with, and can we get some kind of an interim report of where they’re at?” said McCarthy, a former assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York. McCarthy is now a contributing editor for National Review and a Fox News contributor.

Close

“We haven’t heard a word,” McCarthy added.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions appointed DOJ Inspector General (IG) Michael Horowitz and U.S. Attorney for the District of Utah John Huber to review the DOJ’s and FBI’s investigations into 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email, the FBI’s surveillance of a former campaign adviser of President Donald Trump’s, Carter Page, and other controversies.

“We haven’t seen anything happening, you know?” McCarthy said, pointing to the review of the FBI and DOJ’s conduct during the investigation into allegations of collusion between Trump campaign officials and Russia. “The bizarre thing is, we haven’t heard a thing about it.”

Ohr (pictured above left) in particular has earned Republicans’ wrath for the part he played in the controversy. Ohr’s wife, Nellie, worked for Fusion GPS, the opposition research firm Clinton and the Democratic National Committee (DNC) used to peddle negative allegations against Trump from sources linked to Russian interests.

Fusion GPS used former British spy Christopher Steele to compile the negative information in what became known as the Steele dossier, which the FBI used to obtain and then to renew Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrants allowing the government to spy on Page.

Trump blasted Ohr on Twitter Wednesday, writing, “How the hell is Bruce Ohr still employed at the Justice Department? Disgraceful! Witch Hunt!”

Former DOJ attorney James Trusty told Fox News host Laura Ingraham that Ohr’s demotion and reassignment to the DOJ’s Office of International Affairs is a sure sign of trouble for him.

Who do you think would win the Presidency?

By completing the poll, you agree to receive emails from LifeZette, occasional offers from our partners and that you've read and agree to our privacy policy and legal statement.

“There is no bigger sign of purgatory than being sent there against your will. So the fact that Bruce Ohr is at International Affairs means that he is not in favored status,” Trusty said. “He’s hanging by a thread. The cumbersome process of discharging a federal employee is very long.”

Ohr testified Tuesday in a closed-door joint hearing between the House Judiciary Committee and the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

Related: Ohr Had ‘Obvious Conflict of Interest,’ Violated Gov’t Rules, Dhillon Says

McCarthy said that Ohr “apparently” is “cooperating with the congressional committees. And I think the most intriguing thing we heard is that [Ohr] provided the names of a number of people who are in the loop … in terms of what he was doing in communication with Steele … throughout the period of time the dossier was being written and compiled by Steele,” McCarthy noted.

“And it seems that Ohr is an important person because he’s really at the nexus of the Fusion GPS and the Justice Department FBI side of what I think is actually the most interesting collusion we’ve seen so far,” McCarthy added.

Trusty said Ohr appeared to be “freelancing” during his interactions with Steele because he was “on his own frolicking detour with the FBI, with nobody supervising, nobody looking at it.”

(photo credit, article image: Donald Trump, CC BY-SA 3.0, by Gage Skidmore)