Attorney General Jeff Sessions, House leadership defend Rod Rosenstein against impeachment threat
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U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions is defending his deputy, Rod Rosenstein, against Congressional Republicans who moved to impeach him. Rosenstein oversees the federal probe of Russia’s meddling in the 2016 presidential election. (July 26)
AP
WASHINGTON – Attorney General Jeff Sessions and House leaders rushed to the defense of Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein Thursday, after a coalition of conservative lawmakers launched an impeachment effort against the Justice Department official.
During an appearance in Boston, Sessions said Rosenstein had his “highest confidence” and referred to to his top deputy as “highly capable.”
Perhaps the most important show of support, however, came from House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wisc., and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., who rejected the impeachment effort that Pelosi characterized as a thinly-veiled move to derail Russia special counsel Robert Mueller’s ongoing inquiry, which Rosenstein oversees.
More: House conservatives file articles of impeachment against Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein
More: Justice Department announces strategy on foreign meddling in U.S. elections, including alerting public
The rare alliance of Ryan and Pelosi means that the impeachment measure has little chance of advancing. And House members are scheduled to adjourn Thursday for a five-week recess.Â
“The attack on Rosenstein, of course, is an attack on the Mueller investigation,” Pelosi said. “Just when you think you’ve seen it all, Republicans have no shame…What they’re making is a statement: ‘President Trump is above the law.’ If they bring it up (for a vote), they have a price to pay for going that route.â€
Said Ryan: “Do I support impeachment of Rod Rosenstein? No, I do not… I don’t think that this rises to the level of high crimes and misdemeanors.â€
Members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus escalated their battle against Rosenstein on Wednesday, filing articles of impeachment against the deputy attorney general who they accuse of stalling the handing over of documents to Congress related to the Russia investigation.
Rep. Mark Meadows of North Carolina, chairman of the Freedom Caucus, asserted that Rosenstein had “made every effort to obstruct legitimate attempts of congressional oversight.”
Meadows filed the articles of impeachment along with Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and nine other conservatives.
The Department of Justice has already handed over about 880,000 documents to Congress, but Meadows and his conservative allies are seeking more.
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