{{Short description|American lawyer and government official (born 1962)}} {{Use American English|date = March 2019}} {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2018}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Michael Horowitz | image = Michael E. Horowitz official photo.jpg | office = Inspector General of the Federal Reserve Board and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau | president = Donald Trump | term_start = June 30, 2025 | term_end = | predecessor = Glenn Fine | successor = William M. Blier (Acting) | office1 = Chair of the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee | president1 = Donald Trump<br />Joe Biden<br/>Donald Trump | term_start1 = April 29, 2020 | term_end1 = | predecessor1 = Glenn Fine | successor1 = | office2 = Inspector General of the United States Department of Justice | president2 = Barack Obama<br />Donald Trump<br />Joe Biden<br/>Donald Trump | term_start2 = April 16, 2012 | term_end2 = June 30, 2025 | predecessor2 = Cynthia Schnedar (Acting) | successor2 = William Blier (Acting) | birth_name = Michael Evan Horowitz | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1962|9|19}} | birth_place = New York City, New York, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = | education = Brandeis University (BA)<br />Harvard University (JD) }} '''Michael Evan Horowitz'''<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=umn.31951d03593204j&view=1up&seq=25|title=Confirmation hearings on federal appointments ... PT.5. - Full View |via=HathiTrust Digital Library|series=S. HRG.;112-72 |year=2011 |isbn=9780160897856 }}</ref> (born September 19, 1962)<ref name="MHLD">{{cite book |last=Hubbell |first=Martindale |date=April 2003 |title=Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory: Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, U.S. Government Lawyers, Law Schools (Volume 4 - 2003) |publisher=Martindale-Hubbell |isbn=9781561605514 }}</ref> is an American attorney and government official. He is the Inspector General for the Federal Reserve Board and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. He previously served as Inspector General of the United States Department of Justice from 2012 to 2025.
==Early life and education== Horowitz is the son of Jewish parents, Anne J. and Fred Horowitz.<ref name=NYTWedding>{{Cite news|title= WEDDINGS; Alexandra Kauffman, Michael Horowitz |newspaper=The New York Times|date=June 18, 2000 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/06/18/style/weddings-alexandra-kauffman-michael-horowitz.html |quote=The bridegroom, 37, is the chief of staff to James K. Robinson, the assistant attorney general for the Justice Department's criminal division in Washington. }}</ref> His father owned the women's clothing manufacturer Paul Alfred Inc. and his mother owned an antique store in Nyack, New York.<ref name=NYTWedding /> He earned a Bachelor of Arts, ''summa cum laude'', from Brandeis University majoring in economics and minoring in legal studies. He then earned a Juris Doctor, ''magna cum laude'', from Harvard Law School.<ref name=NYTWedding />
==Career== Following law school he served as a law clerk for Judge John G. Davies of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. He then worked as an associate at the law firm Debevoise & Plimpton. From 1991 to 1999 he was an assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. From 1999 to 2002 he worked at the Department of Justice headquarters in Washington D.C., first as a deputy assistant attorney general, then as chief of staff. In 2002 he returned to private practice as a partner at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, where he focused on white collar defense, internal investigations, and regulatory compliance. During this time he also served as a commissioner on the U.S. Sentencing Commission—a position for which he was confirmed by the Senate in 2003.<ref name="auto">{{cite web |url=https://oig.justice.gov/about/meet-ig.htm|title=Meet the Inspector General |website= U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Inspector General|accessdate=March 31, 2018}}</ref>
==Inspector General for the Department of Justice== Horowitz was sworn in as the Inspector General of the United States Department of Justice on April 16, 2012.<ref name="presentIG">[https://www.justice.gov/oig/about/ About the DOJ OIG], About The Office</ref> Since 2015, he has also been the chair of the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE), an organization consisting of all 73 federal Inspectors General.<ref name="auto"/> ''The New York Times'' reported he was not among at least twelve inspectors general fired by President Donald Trump four days into his second term.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Haberman |first1=Maggie |last2=Karni |first2=Annie |title=Trump Fires 17 Inspectors General in Late-Night Purge |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/24/us/politics/trump-fires-inspectors-general.html |work=The New York Times |date=January 24, 2025}}</ref>
=== Review of ATF's Operation Fast and Furious === {{Main|ATF gunwalking scandal}} In September 2012, Horowitz released a 471-page report on the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives' Operation Fast and Furious, in which ATF agents allowed illegal gun purchases to proceed with the intention of tracking the weapons to Mexican drug cartels.<ref name="WaPo_FF">{{cite news |last1=Horwitz |first1=Sari |last2=Grimaldi |first2=James V. |title=Inspector general critical of Justice Dept., ATF in 'Fast and Furious' operation |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/justice-ig-critical-of-atf-in-gun-operation/2012/09/19/379daf18-0273-11e2-8102-ebee9c66e190_story.html |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=September 19, 2012 |access-date=November 30, 2025}}</ref> The report found "a pattern of serious failures" and recommended 14 federal officials for disciplinary action.<ref name="WaPo_FF" /> Horowitz found no evidence that Attorney General Eric Holder knew about the operation before early 2011.<ref name="WaPo_FF" /> Following the report's release, Acting ATF Director Kenneth Melson and Deputy Assistant Attorney General Jason Weinstein resigned.<ref name="WaPo_FF" />
=== Review on FBI and DOJ actions in the 2016 election === {{Main|Inspector General report on FBI and DOJ actions in the 2016 election}} Horowitz announced in January 2017 that the Inspector General's office would examine evidence related to "allegations of misconduct" regarding FBI Director James B. Comey's handling of the investigation into Hillary Clinton's email practices and whether Justice Department employees leaked information improperly during the run-up to the 2016 United States presidential election.<ref>{{cite news|first1=Matt |last1=Zapotosky|first2= Sari |last2=Horwitz|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2017/01/12/justice-department-inspector-general-to-investigate-pre-election-actions-by-department-and-fbi|title=Justice Department inspector general to investigate pre-election actions by department and FBI|newspaper=The Washington Post|date= January 12, 2017}}</ref> In June 2018, Horowitz released his report, concluding that Peter Strzok and other FBI employees "brought discredit to themselves" and to the agency. He found that Comey indulged in ad hoc decision making and did not follow FBI procedures, but did not find that he was motivated by any political bias.<ref>{{cite news|title=The long-awaited inspector general report on the FBI, Comey, Clinton, and 2016, explained|url=https://www.vox.com/2018/6/14/17448960/inspector-general-report-justice-fbi-clinton-emails-comey|author=Prokop, Andrew|date=June 14, 2018|publisher=Vox Media|accessdate=June 15, 2018}}</ref>
=== Review of 4 FISA Applications and the Crossfire Hurricane investigation === {{Main|Inspector General report on the Crossfire Hurricane investigation}} Another investigation into the FBI and Justice Department was launched by Horowitz in March 2018. This investigation targeted the FBI and Justice Department's filing of four FISA applications and renewals to surveil former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page and whether or not there was an abuse of this FISA process. A redacted version of the report of the investigation was released December 9, 2019. On November 18, 2019 Senator Lindsey Graham, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, announced that Horowitz would testify before the committee on December 11 regarding the investigation and provide recommendations on how judicial and investigative systems could be improved.<ref>{{cite news|title=Lindsey Graham sets date for FISA abuse hearing with DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz|url=https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/lindsey-graham-sets-date-for-fisa-abuse-hearing-with-doj-inspector-general-michael-horowitz|author=Chaitin, Daniel|date=November 18, 2019|publisher=Washington Examiner|accessdate=November 18, 2019}}</ref>
On December 9, 2019, Horowitz released his report stating that the FBI found 17 “basic and fundamental” errors and omissions in its applications to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISA Court), but did not find political bias during the investigation of Trump and Russia, nor did he find evidence that the FBI attempted to place people inside the Trump campaign or report on the Trump campaign.<ref name=reutersdec9>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-russia/no-political-bias-but-fbi-made-mistakes-in-probe-of-trump-2016-campaign-watchdog-idUSKBN1YD11L|title=Mistakes, but no political bias in FBI probe of Trump campaign: watchdog|first1=Sarah N.|last1=Lynch|first2=Andy|last2=Sullivan|first3=Mark|last3=Hosenball|publisher=Reuters|date=December 9, 2019|accessdate=December 9, 2019}}</ref><ref name=horowitz1>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/read-full-text-doj-ig-michael-horowitz-s-report-origins-n1098431|title=Read the full text: Justice Department watchdog report into origins of Russia probe|website=NBC News|date=December 9, 2019 }}</ref><ref name=horowitz2>{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/inspector-general-report-trump-russia-investigation/2019/12/09/d5940d88-184c-11ea-a659-7d69641c6ff7_story.html|title=FBI was justified in opening Trump campaign probe, but case plagued by 'serious failures,' inspector general finds|first1=Devlin|last1=Barrett|last2=Zapotosky|first2=Matt|last3=Demirjian|first3=Karoun|first4=Ellen|last4=Nakashima|newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref><ref name=horowitz3>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnbc.com/2019/12/09/fbi-russia-probe-report-released-by-justice-department-watchdog.html|title=Justice Department watchdog finds Trump-Russia probe was not tainted by political bias|first=Kevin|last=Breuninger|date=December 9, 2019|website=CNBC}}</ref><ref name=horowitz4>{{Cite web | url=https://www.justice.gov/storage/120919-examination.pdf | title=Review of Four FISA Applications and Other Aspects of the FBI’s Crossfire Hurricane Investigation | website=www.justice.gov}}</ref> However, in a Senate hearing, Horowitz stated he could not rule out political bias as a possible motivation.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/doj-watchdog-tell-senate-he-has-deep-concerns-about-fbi-n1099636|title=Watchdog tells Senate of deep concerns over FBI errors in Russia probe|website=NBC News|date=December 11, 2019 }}</ref> The report found that the FBI had a legal "authorized investigative purpose and with sufficient factual predication" to ask for court approval to begin surveillance of Carter Page, a former Trump campaign adviser.<ref name=reutersdec9/>
=== Pandemic Response Accountability Committee === Horowitz appointed Glenn Fine to chair the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC), but Trump removed Fine in early April 2020. That month, Horowitz became acting chair of the PRAC.<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Rotenberg|first1=Jeffrey D.|last2=Hans|first2=Richard F.|date=1 May 2020|title=Pandemic Response Accountability Committee|url=https://www.dlapiper.com/en/uk/insights/publications/2020/05/pandemic-response-accountability-committee-update/|access-date=16 June 2020|website=DLA Piper|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=PRAC Members {{!}} Pandemic Response Accountability Committee|url=https://pandemic.oversight.gov/about/prac/members|access-date=2020-06-16|website=pandemic.oversight.gov}}</ref>
=== Review of the DOJ's Zero Tolerance Policy === {{Main|Inspector General report on the Zero Tolerance Policy}} In January 2021, the Inspector General for the Department of Justice concluded an investigation into the "zero tolerance" policy, finding that: department leaders underestimated the difficulty of implementing it, failed to tell local prosecutors and others that children would be separated; failed to understand that separations would last longer than a few hours; and failed to halt the policy after that was discovered.<ref name="ap-2021-01-14">{{cite web|date=2021-01-14|title=Watchdog: DOJ bungled 'zero tolerance' immigration policy|url=https://apnews.com/article/aclu-doj-zero-tolerance-policy-failure-b8e6e0a189f5752697335f51d57b1628|access-date=2021-01-15|website=AP NEWS|quote=The report from the inspector general for the Justice Department found that leadership failed to prepare to implement the policy or manage the fallout, which resulted in more than 3,000 family separations during “zero tolerance” and caused lasting emotional damage to children who were taken from their parents at the border. ... According to the report, department leaders underestimated how difficult it would be to carry out the policy in the field and did not inform local prosecutors and others that children would be separated. They also failed to understand that children would be separated longer than a few hours, and when that was discovered, they pressed on.}}</ref> The findings led Rod Rosenstein, who had been Trump's Attorney General at the time the policy was enforced, to admit that family separations "should never have been implemented".<ref name="Holpuch Kirchgaessner 2021">{{cite web|last1=Holpuch|first1=Amanda|last2=Kirchgaessner|first2=Stephanie|date=2021-01-14|title=Trump official admits family separation policy 'should never have been implemented'|url=http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jan/14/trump-official-family-separation-policy-rod-rosenstein|access-date=2021-01-15|website=the Guardian|quote=Rod Rosenstein publicly denounces 'zero-tolerance' policy for first time, following report showing US didn’t effectively coordinate care for children}}</ref> According to an ''NBC News'' report on the investigation, "The report could provide a road map for the incoming Biden administration to investigate those responsible for a policy President-elect Joe Biden has called criminal."<ref>{{cite web|title=Justice officials respond to report on family separation by blaming Trump, expressing regret|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/justice-officials-respond-new-report-family-separation-blaming-trump-expressing-n1254278|access-date=January 15, 2021|website=NBC News|date=January 14, 2021 }}</ref>
=== Review of DOJ actions related to the 2020 presidential election === In January 2021, Horowitz announced an investigation into "whether any former or current DOJ official engaged in an improper attempt to have DOJ seek to alter the outcome of the 2020 Presidential Election."<ref name="CBS_Jan2021">{{cite web |title=DOJ inspector general investigating whether officials tried to overturn election results |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/justice-department-inspector-general-investigation-election-results/ |website=CBS News |date=January 25, 2021 |access-date=November 30, 2025}}</ref> No public report has been released.
===Trump-era leak investigations review=== In June 2021, Horowitz announced a review of the Trump administration Justice Department's use of subpoenas to obtain communication records of members of Congress and journalists during leak investigations.<ref name="NPR_Horowitz_2021">{{cite news |title=Justice Department IG To Review Trump-Era Probe Of Schiff, Swalwell |url=https://www.npr.org/2021/06/11/1005458238/trumps-justice-department-investigated-democrats-on-the-intelligence-committee |publisher=NPR |date=June 11, 2021 |access-date=November 26, 2025}}</ref> The review examined investigations into leaked classified information that appeared in news articles in 2017 related to possible ties between the Trump campaign and Russia.
Horowitz released his findings on December 10, 2024.<ref name="NPR_Horowitz_2024">{{cite news |title=Trump-era Justice Department subpoenaed congressional staffers, watchdog finds |url=https://www.npr.org/2024/12/10/g-s1-37644/justice-department-subpoenae-trump |publisher=NPR |date=December 10, 2024 |access-date=November 26, 2025}}</ref> The report found that prosecutors had secretly subpoenaed phone and email metadata for two members of Congress—Representatives Adam Schiff and Eric Swalwell, both California Democrats—as well as 43 congressional staffers from both parties.<ref name="NBC_Horowitz">{{cite news |title=Trump's DOJ secretly obtained phone and text message logs of 43 congressional staffers and 2 members of Congress |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/trumps-doj-secretly-obtained-phone-text-message-logs-43-congressional-rcna183610 |publisher=NBC News |date=December 10, 2024 |access-date=November 26, 2025}}</ref> Of the staffers, 21 worked in Democratic positions and 20 in Republican positions.<ref name="NBC_Horowitz" /> All four investigations closed without criminal charges.<ref name="CBS_Horowitz">{{cite news |title=Feds collected records of dozens of congressional staff, multiple reporters in Trump-era leak probes, watchdog reveals |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/justice-department-congress-leak-investigations-inspector-general/ |publisher=CBS News |date=December 10, 2024 |access-date=November 26, 2025}}</ref>
Horowitz found "no evidence of retaliatory or political motivation by the career prosecutors" but concluded that subpoenaing congressional records "risks chilling Congress's ability to conduct oversight of the executive branch."<ref name="NPR_Horowitz_2024" /> The report found the Justice Department violated its own policies by failing to convene its News Media Review Committee and, in one investigation, failing to obtain required approval from the Director of National Intelligence.<ref name="CBS_Horowitz" /> Former Attorney General William Barr, who had personally approved the news media subpoenas in 2020, declined to be interviewed for the investigation.<ref name="NBC_Horowitz" />
=== Review of FBI handling of Larry Nassar allegations === In July 2021, Horowitz released a report finding that senior officials in the FBI Indianapolis Field Office "failed to respond to allegations of sexual abuse" by former USA Gymnastics physician Larry Nassar "with the urgency that the allegations required."<ref name="OIG_Nassar">{{cite web |title=DOJ OIG Releases Report of Investigation and Review of the FBI's Handling of Allegations of Sexual Abuse by Former USA Gymnastics Physician Lawrence Gerard Nassar |url=https://oig.justice.gov/news/doj-oig-releases-report-investigation-and-review-fbis-handling-allegations-sexual-abuse-former |publisher=U.S. Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General |date=July 14, 2021 |access-date=November 30, 2025}}</ref> The report found that approximately 70 athletes were sexually abused by Nassar between July 2015, when the FBI first received allegations, and September 2016, when he was arrested following a separate investigation.<ref name="CBS_Nassar">{{cite news |title=FBI director details "totally unacceptable" failures in Larry Nassar case |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/fbi-fires-agent-larry-nassar-usa-gymnastics-doctor/ |publisher=CBS News |date=September 15, 2021 |access-date=November 30, 2025}}</ref>
The report also found that Indianapolis Field Office officials made false statements to investigators when the matter came under scrutiny.<ref name="OIG_Nassar" /> Horowitz made criminal referrals for two FBI officials, which the Department of Justice declined to prosecute.<ref name="Moran_Statement">{{cite web |title=Sens. Moran, Blumenthal Statement on DOJ IG Report on FBI Mishandling of Larry Nassar Case |url=https://www.moran.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2021/7/sens-moran-blumenthal-statement-on-doj-ig-report-on-fbi-mishandling-of-larry-nassar-case |publisher=Office of U.S. Senator Jerry Moran |date=July 14, 2021 |access-date=November 30, 2025}}</ref> Following the report, FBI Director Christopher A. Wray fired one of the agents involved.<ref name="CBS_Nassar" /> In April 2024, the Department of Justice reached a $138.7 million settlement with 139 of Nassar's victims over the FBI's failures.<ref name="NBC_Settlement">{{cite news |title=Larry Nassar's victims reach $138.7 million settlement over botched FBI probe |url=https://www.today.com/news/larry-nassars-victims-reach-1387-million-settlement-botched-fbi-probe-rcna149029 |publisher=NBC News |date=April 23, 2024 |access-date=November 30, 2025}}</ref>
=== Review of the FBI Richmond Catholic memo === {{Main|FBI Richmond Catholic Memo Investigation}} In April 2024, Horowitz released a review of an internal FBI memo that identified "radical traditionalist Catholics" as potential domestic violent extremists. The review found "no malicious intent" behind the memo but documented procedural failures, including that the memo's authors knew their sources—including the Southern Poverty Law Center—had political bias but provided no caveats about credibility in the final document.<ref>{{cite news|title=No Bias Found in F.B.I. Report on Catholic Extremists|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/18/us/politics/fbi-catholics-inspector-general.html|newspaper=The New York Times|date=April 18, 2024|access-date=November 25, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Biden DOJ report: 'No malicious intent' behind leaked FBI memo targeting traditional Catholics|url=https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/257447/biden-doj-report-no-malicious-intent-behind-fbis-leaked-memo-targeting-traditional-catholics|publisher=Catholic News Agency|date=April 19, 2024|access-date=November 25, 2025}}</ref>
===January 6 confidential human sources review===
On December 12, 2024, Horowitz released an 88-page report examining the FBI's handling of confidential human sources and intelligence collection ahead of the January 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol attack.<ref name="NBC_Jan6_CHS">{{cite news |last=Reilly |first=Ryan J. |title=FBI missed 'basic step' gathering intel in the lead-up to Jan. 6, DOJ watchdog finds |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/fbi-missed-basic-step-gathering-intel-lead-jan-6-doj-watchdog-finds-rcna183449 |newspaper=NBC News |date=December 12, 2024 |access-date=January 5, 2026}}</ref><ref name="CNN_Jan6_CHS">{{cite news |title=No undercover FBI agents were at the January 6 US Capitol riot, watchdog reports |url=https://www.cnn.com/2024/12/12/politics/justice-inspector-general-january-6-fbi-report/index.html |publisher=CNN |date=December 12, 2024 |access-date=January 5, 2026}}</ref>
The report found no evidence that undercover FBI employees were present at the protests or Capitol on January 6.<ref name="NBC_Jan6_CHS" /> The review determined that 26 FBI confidential human sources were in Washington, D.C. that day, with 23 attending on their own initiative rather than at FBI direction.<ref name="CBS_Jan6_CHS">{{cite news |title=FBI leadership said "basic step" was missed ahead of Jan. 6 Capitol breach, watchdog report reveals |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/justice-dept-watchdog-report-fbi-jan-6-intelligence-confidential-human-sources/ |publisher=CBS News |date=December 12, 2024 |access-date=January 5, 2026}}</ref> Four confidential human sources entered the Capitol during the riot, and an additional 11 entered the restricted area around the building.<ref name="CNN_Jan6_CHS" /> The report stated that none were authorized by the FBI to enter the Capitol or restricted areas, break the law, or encourage others to commit illegal acts.<ref name="NBC_Jan6_CHS" />
Horowitz found that the FBI failed to canvass its field offices for intelligence from confidential human sources before January 6, which "could have helped the FBI and its law enforcement partners with their preparations."<ref name="CBS_Jan6_CHS" /> FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate described this as a "basic step that was missed."<ref name="NBC_Jan6_CHS" /> The report also found that the FBI inaccurately reported to Congress after January 6 that it had directed field offices to canvass their sources, though the inspector general determined this inaccuracy was not intentional.<ref name="CNN_Jan6_CHS" />
On December 16, 2024, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley and Senator Ron Johnson wrote to Horowitz requesting additional records, including whether other DOJ component agencies such as the ATF, DEA, and U.S. Marshals Service had confidential human sources present on January 6.<ref name="Newsweek_Jan6">{{cite news |title=GOP senators demand answers from DOJ on Jan 6. "Human sources": Report |url=https://www.newsweek.com/gop-senators-demand-answers-doj-jan-6-humans-sources-report-2004613 |newspaper=Newsweek |date=December 24, 2024 |access-date=January 5, 2026}}</ref>
==Inspector General for the Federal Reserve Board and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau== In June 2025, Horowitz was appointed by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to serve as Inspector General of the Federal Reserve Board and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, effective June 30, 2025.<ref name="Fed_Appt">{{cite web |title=Michael E. Horowitz appointed Inspector General for the Federal Reserve Board and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau |url=https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/pressreleases/other20250606b.htm |publisher=Federal Reserve Board |date=June 6, 2025 |access-date=November 30, 2025}}</ref> Under federal law, the Federal Reserve chairman appoints the agency's inspector general without presidential input or Senate confirmation.<ref name="NYT_Fed">{{cite news |last=Savage |first=Charlie |title=Justice Dept.'s Inspector General to Move to the Federal Reserve |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/06/us/justice-inspector-general-fed.html |newspaper=The New York Times |date=June 6, 2025 |access-date=April 24, 2026}}</ref> Horowitz succeeded Mark Bialek, who retired in April 2025 after nearly 14 years as inspector general.<ref name="Fed_Appt" /> His deputy at the Department of Justice, William Blier, became acting inspector general upon Horowitz's departure.<ref name="NYT_Fed" />
==Personal life== In 2000, he married Alexandra Leigh Kauffman in Leesburg, Virginia.<ref name=NYTWedding /> Kauffman is a former field producer for CNN covering economics and personal finance.<ref name=NYTWedding />
== See also == * United States Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General * ATF gunwalking scandal * Inspector General report on FBI and DOJ actions in the 2016 election * Inspector General report on the Crossfire Hurricane investigation * Inspector General report on the Zero Tolerance Policy * FBI Richmond Catholic memo investigation
== References == {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{commons category-inline}} *{{C-SPAN|13088}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Horowitz, Michael E.}} Category:1962 births Category:Brandeis University alumni Category:Harvard Law School alumni Category:Living people Category:People associated with Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft Category:Lawyers from New York City Category:Civil servants from New York City Category:United States Department of Justice officials Category:United States inspectors general by name Category:People associated with Debevoise & Plimpton Category:20th-century American Jews Category:21st-century American Jews