WATCH: Rep. Trey Gowdy reveals Congress is investigating the Rob Porter scandal

Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC) revealed that Congress has launched an investigation into White House staff secretary Rob Porter's employment despite credible allegations of domestic abuse.

Gowdy, who announced his retirement from Congress earlier this month, told CNN's Alisyn Camerota the House Oversight Committee he chairs opened an investigation Tuesday into the Porter scandal.

"We did last night," Gowdy said.

Camerota asked whether he had officially confirmed the investigation, but Gowdy said her use of "official" was a bit of an overstatement.

"That word probably means more to you than it does to me," Gowdy said. "What matters to me is we are directing inquiries to people that we think have access to information we don't have. You can call it official, you can call it unofficial -- those words don't mean anything to me."

FBI director Chris Wray contradicted the White House timeline by confirming the investigation of Porter's abuse allegations wrapped up months before he was pushed out.

"What means something to me is I'm going to direct questions to the FBI that I expect them to answer," Gowdy said. "If they don't answer them, then they're going to need to give me a really good reason. You'll learn that reason, and you can judge whether or not it's a sufficient reason or not. Unless you're Jack Bauer (from Fox's '24'), you can't make people answer questions. I've been trying for seven years to get people to answer questions without a whole lot of success. We're going to try, and we could use your help if they say no."

Chairman Trey Gowdy says the House Oversight Committee is "directing inquiries" to the FBI about Rob Porter https://t.co/0xN6S6UOoF

— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) February 14, 2018