# Michael Horowitz **Michael E. Horowitz** was Inspector General of the [[Department of Justice]] from April 16, 2012 to June 30, 2025, about thirteen years. He chaired CIGIE, the federal IG council, from 2015 to 2020, and led the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee, the 21-IG body that oversaw roughly $5 trillion in COVID spending. Since June 30, 2025 he has been Inspector General of the [[Federal Reserve]] Board and the [[CFPB]]. His reports discomfited both parties, and he remains the most-cited internal witness on the FBI's conduct from 2016 to 2020. Each side quotes the half of his findings that suits it. ## Career - **1991–99:** Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of New York, ending as chief of the public corruption unit. - **1999–2002:** Justice Department Criminal Division. - **2002–12:** partner at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft. - **2003–09:** member of the U.S. Sentencing Commission. ## The reports | Report | Date | What it found | |---|---|---| | Clinton e-mail investigation | June 2018 | [[James Comey]] acted "extraordinarily and insubordinately" by announcing his decisions without telling Attorney General [[Loretta Lynch]]. But there was "no evidence that the conclusions by the prosecutors were affected by bias or other improper considerations." It criticized the Strzok–Page texts. | | Comey memos | Aug 29, 2019 | Comey broke FBI policy by having a friend give memo contents to the *New York Times* and by keeping memos at home. Neither he nor his lawyers gave classified material to the press. DOJ declined to prosecute. | | Crossfire Hurricane FISA | Dec 2019 | The investigation had an "authorized purpose," and there was no evidence that "political bias or improper motivation influenced the decisions" to open it. But the [[Carter Page]] applications had "at least 17 significant errors or omissions," and the [[Steele Dossier]] played a "central and essential role." He referred [[Kevin Clinesmith]], who pleaded guilty in 2020. See [[Horowitz FISA Report]]. | | FBI handling of Larry Nassar | July 14, 2021 | The Indianapolis field office sat on the 2015 allegations for months while the abuse continued. Officials then gave incomplete or inaccurate accounts to internal inquiries. | The 2019 FISA report is the clearest case of his split verdict. The right cites the 17 errors as proof that the Russia investigation was a frame-up. The left cites the finding of no political bias in its opening. ## Leaving DOJ The Fed's release says the Board appointed him on June 6, 2025, effective June 30. Wikipedia credits the choice to Chair [[Jerome Powell]]. When he left, his office had open matters touching [[Pam Bondi]], [[Kash Patel]], [[Todd Blanche]] and a whistleblower complaint about [[Emil Bove]] (one source). Oversight advocates read his exit as the loss of the department's most experienced internal check. DOJ then went through a string of acting IGs: William Blier, then [[Don Berthiaume]] from October 2025, then Blier again from January 2026 after Berthiaume hit the time limit on acting service. Berthiaume was confirmed 51–47 on August 7, 2026 and sworn in on August 14. ## At the Fed: the renovation report In July 2025, under attack from the White House over the cost of renovating the Fed's headquarters, Powell asked the inspector general to review it. The Justice Department opened a criminal probe anyway, led by D.C. U.S. Attorney [[Jeanine Pirro]]. Judge [[James Boasberg]] quashed its subpoenas, citing "essentially zero evidence," and DOJ dropped the probe on April 24, 2026, leaving the question to the IG. The IG's report came out on **September 30, 2026**. It found no "reasonable grounds to believe that a violation of federal criminal law had occurred" and no administrative misconduct by Powell. It did find systemic management failures: no cost ceiling and no guaranteed-maximum-price contract, with the budget rising from $921 million (2020) to about $2.4–2.5 billion. The marble and fountains the administration had mocked were not material cost drivers. Axios and Al Jazeera attribute the report to the Fed OIG; one source names Horowitz as the IG who issued it. [[Robert Hur]] had represented the Fed Board against the DOJ subpoenas. ## See Also - [[Inspector General Oversight Tree]] · [[Inspectors General]] · [[Don Berthiaume]] - [[Horowitz FISA Report]] · [[Crossfire Hurricane]] · [[Kevin Clinesmith]] · [[Igor Danchenko]] · [[Steele Dossier]] - [[James Comey]] · [[Christopher Wray]] · [[Jerome Powell]] · [[Reports Hub]]