Ever on the right side of history, Congressional Republicans are seeking to impeach Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, the Justice Department official overseeing the investigation into the Trump campaign and the one true villain of 2018.
Eleven members of the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus have filed paperwork accusing Rosenstein of “intentionally withholding embarrassing documents and information” from Congress.
“For nine months we’ve warned them consequences were coming, and for nine months we’ve heard the same excuses backed up by the same unacceptable conduct,” said Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) in a statement seeking Rosenstein’s ouster. “It’s time to find a new deputy attorney general who is serious about accountability and transparency.”
They are pissed that the Justice Department won’t bring in another special counsel to investigate the current Special Counsel, Robert Mueller, who is leading the probe on the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia. They are also angry that Rosenstein approved surveilling former Trump campaign aide Carter Page, a suspected Russian agent, and say that he’s been withholding information about the investigation from Congress. They seem significantly less outraged about what the events that necessitated such an extensive investigation in the first place.
“I am not keeping any information from Congress,” Rosenstein told Ohio Republican Rep. Jim Jordan at a hearing last month. “I certainly hope your colleagues aren’t under that impression, that is not accurate sir.”
Democratic Reps. Jerrold Nadler, Elijah Cummings, and Adam Schiff, called the resolution a “direct attack on the Special Counsel’s investigation — full stop” meant to “undermine an ongoing criminal investigation in an effort to protect President Trump as the walls are closing in around him and his associates.”
The fate of the motion rests with Republican leadership, but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has dismissed impeachment as “far-fetched.” Still, Meadows says he may circumvent leadership and force a vote on the House floor late this week or in September.