U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley reiterates plans to investigate DOJ, FBI over Trump indictments

Iowa U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley said Wednesday he is committed to investigating the members of the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation who served during the Biden administration over indictments against President Donald Trump.

Grassley mentioned the investigation during Trump’s visit to Des Moines on July 3 at an event to kick off a yearlong event celebrating 250 years of American independence. Speaking to the crowded audience, Grassley doubled down on his investigation into federal indictments against Trump, which he referred to as “political weaponization.”

Trump was indicted in 2023 for mishandling classified documents and attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 election. The cases have since been dismissed after Trump won re-election last year.

During a press call Wednesday, Grassley, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, told reporters that he believes wrongdoing by federal prosecutors and investigators that he has pointed out rises to “the criminal level” after it was reported that the FBI is investigating former CIA director John Brennan and former FBI Director James Comey over possible false statements to Congress, according to CNN.

“I can't say that the wrongdoing I have pointed out so far is more in the area of political weaponization of the FBI and the Department of Justice, and I can't say it rose to the criminal level, but evidently the Department of Justice has reason to believe that crime has been committed, and I'll have to defer to them. That's their job, not mine,” Grassley told reporters. “My focus is on transparency and accountability for the American people.”

‘One Big Beautiful Bill Act’ and Iowa’s rural hospitals

During Wednesday’s press call, Grassley said he was proud of his Republican colleagues in Congress for getting President Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” across the finish line last week, which he says will prevent the “largest tax increase in American history.”

“It (the act) gives relief to small businesses and manufacturers,” Grassley said. “It also delivers a modernized safety net for Iowa family farmers. As chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, I oversaw the bill's measures to strengthen our border security and law enforcement efforts.”

The tax and spending reconciliation bill includes reductions to Medicaid spending, primarily through enacting work requirements, which officials at Iowa hospitals say could increase financial strains that rural health care providers are already facing and could lead to clinic closures across the state.

Congressional Republicans tacked on an additional $50 billion in funding for rural hospitals to the spending package, which will be distributed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services over five years. But many rural hospitals have said it’s not enough to make up for the budget shortfalls caused by the legislation.

Grassley said the additional money for rural hospitals, coupled with programs that assist these health care facilities, will help Iowa health care providers. Programs Grassley pointed to include the Rural Emergency Hospital Medicare designation, which allows rural hospitals facing closure to continue operating with outpatient and emergency services only, and the Critical Access Hospitals program, which also supports rural hospitals to help prevent closures.

The tax and spending package also includes changes to states’ control of the provider tax, which is a state-imposed fee on health care providers to help fund state Medicaid programs. The program allows states to draw down federal funding because the federal government is required to match Medicaid spending.

Grassley has supported efforts to lower the provider tax. As chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, Grassley released a report in 2019 on the need for greater transparency in Medicaid financing mechanisms the he called a key driver of the growing federal deficit.

Tom Barton of The Gazette contributed to this report.