Lawmaker claims to have 'smoking gun' email proving Obama DOJ blocked conservative groups from settlement funds

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) claims to have obtained an internal email that proves the Obama Justice Department had blocked conservative-leaning organizations from receiving settlement payouts while awarding money to liberal groups.

According to Fox News, the Obama Justice Department, under then-U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, had allowed prosecutors to strike agreements compelling big companies to give money to outside groups not connected to their cases to comply with legal settlements.

Republican lawmakers have long decried the settlement payouts as a "slush fund" that has reportedly directed nearly $1 billion to liberal groups.

The emails released by Goodlatte on Tuesday had indicated that officials were involved in determining which organizations would receive the money and may have also intervened to ensure that the settlements did not go to conservative groups.

"It is not every day in congressional investigations that we find a smoking gun. Here, we have it." said Goodlatte, who introduced the "Stop Settlements Slush Funds Act of 2017" in January.

Goodlatte had released the email just before the House of Representatives voted 238–183 in favor of the bill, which aims to prohibit government officials from entering into or enforcing a settlement agreement on behalf of the U.S. that provides for a payment or a loan to any person or entity other than the U.S., with some exceptions.

"DOJ's actions contradict the spending power given explicitly to the Legislative Branch and undermine Congress' most effective tool to hold the Executive Branch accountable," Goodlatte said in a statement.

"Regardless of which party is in the White House, subverting Congress to funnel money to outside organizations is unacceptable and unconstitutional," he added.

During his speech on the House floor, Goodlatte criticized then-Associate Attorney General Tony West, who now serves as the executive director of PepsiCo Foundation.

"Aiding their political allies was only the half of it. The evidence of the Obama DOJ's abuse of power shows that Tony West's team went out of its way to exclude conservative groups," Goodlatte said.

The documents had indicated that West had played an active role in helping certain organizations obtain settlement information and some groups who received funding had praised him for his efforts.

Fox News noted that Republicans have denounced such settlements as a "slush fund" for favored groups long before the release of the internal emails.

In 2012, Gibson Guitars was ordered to pay $50,000 to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation even though the organization was not connected to the case. In 2014, Bank of America donated money to the National Urban League, the Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America and the National Council of La Raza as part of a settlement over a major mortgage fraud case that stemmed from the 2008 financial crisis.

Earlier this year, the Department of Justice, under Attorney General Jeff Sessions, put an end to the practice of awarding legal payouts to outside organizations.

On Tuesday, Goodlatte commended Sessions' move to end the mandatory donations and described his legislation as a "good governance measure" that would prevent a future Justice Department from reversing the action.