Conservative author
Jerome Corsi has lodged a formal complaint with the Justice Department accusing special counsel Robert Mueller's office of misconduct in the investigation into Russian election interference.
Corsi, an associate of Roger Stone, alleges
Mueller's team tried to pressure him to admit that he lied about his efforts to learn WikiLeaks' plans ahead of the release of Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta's stolen emails in October 2016.
Corsi insists he never lied. He says he forgot about
the messages he sent to Stone and others seeking to find out what damaging information WikiLeaks had on the Clinton campaign — and later amended his testimony after he found them.
"The special counsel and his prosecutorial staff threatened to indict Dr. Corsi, who is now 72 years old, and effectively put him in jail for the rest of his life, unless Dr. Corsi would provide the false testimony that they demanded, even after being informed that the testimony desired would be false," says
the 78-page document. "This is criminal."
The paperwork was addressed to acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker, the Justice Department's inspector general and the District of Columbia Bar.
Former federal prosecutors contacted by NBC News said they believe Corsi's claims against Mueller have no merit.
"Filing a complaint based on Corsi's version of the truth abuses the role of the inspector general to ferret out wrongdoing within DOJ and seems to be more of a public relations stunt than a meritorious concern," said Daniel Goldman, a former federal prosecutor who is now a legal analyst for NBC News and MSNBC.
Mimi Rocah, who served as an assistant U.S. attorney for New York's Southern District, described Corsi's claims as "patently ridiculous."
"This is somebody who doesn't like the fact that he's being caught in his lies," said Rocah, now a Pace University law professor and legal analyst for NBC News and MSNBC.