WASHINGTON – Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) sent a letter to Department of Justice Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein Thursday, asking for an update on the Justice Department’s inquiry into alleged prosecutorial misconduct regarding Vascular Solutions, Inc.

In February 2016, Vascular Solutions, Inc. was acquitted on all charges of a conspiracy to promote a medical device product for off-label uses. Allegations have since been made that federal prosecutors threatened witnesses to change their testimony during prosecution and have since retaliated against Vascular Solutions CEO Howard Root.

“Taken together, these reports suggest a pattern of threatened and actual retribution against defendants and witnesses borne out of the Department’s disappointment with the outcome of a particular case. This not only casts doubt on the Department’s ability to accept the results of judicial proceedings in a professional manner befitting the nation’s preeminent law enforcement agency, but it significantly undermines our confidence in its commitment to hold government attorneys accountable for questionable actions that may have occurred in the course of this case or other cases.”

The letter goes on to identify seven specific questions for the Department and asks the Department to respond by April 5, 2018.