John S. Irving is a Washington, D.C. white-collar defense lawyer and a partner at SECIL Law. He spent more than a decade at the U.S. Department of Justice, including as an assistant U.S. attorney in Washington and as counsel to two deputy attorneys general, and later served as deputy assistant administrator of the EPA's Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. His clients have included members of Congress in criminal and congressional investigations.
DI has documented statements by John S. Irving on Campaign Finance and Government Ethics. Read the quotations, original sources and related cases below.
Role at the time: Partner at SECIL Law and lawyer for Rep. Andy Ogles, in an email to Ed Martin
Challenged the characterization
Statement summary
In an email to Ed Martin released through a public records lawsuit, Ogles's lawyer John S. Irving sends a letter seeking an end to the Justice Department's criminal investigation of Ogles and says the campaign finance issues are more appropriately addressed by the Federal Election Commission and the House Ethics Committee.
“Please see the attached letter on behalf of our client, Rep. Andy Ogles, seeking the termination of the Department's criminal investigation into campaign finance issues that are more appropriately addressed by the FEC and the House Ethics Committee.”
Read the original text (opens in a new tab)American Oversight letter to the Justice Department inspector general regarding Rep. Andy Ogles · American OversightLetter, pages 1-3; Exhibit A, email chain
Why we used this label
The case concerns the Justice Department's decision to end its campaign finance investigation of Ogles. Irving does not address the reported loans themselves; he says the issues are more appropriately handled by the Federal Election Commission and the House Ethics Committee, which disputes treating the matter as a criminal investigation.
Records show Rep. Andy Ogles's lawyer asked Ed Martin to end DOJ's campaign finance investigation months before the department agreed to return his seized phone. American Oversight wants an inspector general review; Ogles says the investigation should never have happened.
