During a Justice Department oversight hearing Tuesday, the former chairman of the House Judiciary Committee accused Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper Jr. of committing perjury during his Jan. 29 testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee. Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., said he believed Clapper's refusal to acknowledge whether warrantless searches of Americans' communications had been conducted was perjurious after Clapper appeared to concede the point in a letter last week to Sen. Ron Wyden. "Director Clapper's perjury in my opinion has been covered extensively," the Wisconsin Republican said. "In light of this, are you willing to discuss whether or not the Justice Department is investigating Director Clapper for his statements before the Senate? Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. refused to say whether the DOJ was conducting an investigation. "I'm really not in a position to confirm whether the department is investigating any particular matter, but we are reviewing the material that you and other members of the committee have provided to us, and I can assure you that we will take any action that is appropriate," Holder said. (more…)
