ON THE CASE

Gowdy: Oversight Committee Launched Rob Porter Investigation

House chairman tells CNN the investigation started “last night.”

The House Oversight Committee has launched an investigation into the White House’s hiring of Rob Porter, Chairman Trey Gowdy told CNN’s New Day Wednesday morning. According to the South Carolina Republican, the investigation was launched Tuesday night. “You can call it official. You can call it unofficial,” he said. “I’m going to direct questions to the FBI that I expect them to answer. And if they don’t answer them, then they’re going to need to give me a really good reason.” In a letter to White House chief of staff John Kelly, the committee said it would be investigating “the extent to which any security clearances issued to Porter comported with” polices normally undertaken for clearances at the Executive Branch. The committee gave the White House until February 28th to hand over requested information, including when the White House knew about “became aware of potential derogatory or disqualifying information[.]” This comes after FBI Director Christopher Wray testified to Congress about the timeline of information about Rob Porter the bureau gave to the White House. Wray’s recount contradicted the White House narrative.