GOP lawmaker: ‘I do not support’ impeaching Rosenstein

Rep. Bruce Poliquin (R-Maine) on Wednesday evening came out against the GOP resolution to impeach Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.

“I do not support moving to impeach Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein,” Poliquin tweeted. “I maintain that the impartial and independent investigation by Robert Mueller should run its course. #mepolitics.” 

I do not support moving to impeach Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. I maintain that the impartial and independent investigation by Robert Mueller should run its course. #mepolitics

— Rep. Bruce Poliquin (@RepPoliquin) July 26, 2018

Eleven House GOP lawmakers earlier on Wednesday introduced articles of impeachment against Rosenstein, the top Department of Justice (DOJ) official overseeing special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation. 

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The lawmakers, led by Reps. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) and Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), allege that Rosenstein has a “conflict of interest” in the Mueller investigation and has dragged his feet when producing documents for ongoing investigations into the FBI and DOJ’s conduct during the 2016 presidential election.

The introduction of the resolution does not guarantee it will get a House vote.

However, it is the latest escalation in the GOP’s fight against the Justice Department. The House Judiciary Committee and the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee are currently investigating FBI and DOJ decisionmaking during the 2016 presidential election. 

“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,” Meadows, the head of the House Freedom Caucus, said about the articles to impeach Rosenstein. “Time is up and the consequences are here. It’s time to find a new Deputy Attorney General who is serious about accountability and transparency.” 

“The DOJ is keeping information from Congress. Enough is enough. It’s time to hold Mr. Rosenstein accountable for blocking Congress’s constitutional oversight role,” Jordan said in a statement.

Several GOP lawmakers have ruled out Rosenstein’s impeachment since GOP lawmakers started touting the plan in recent weeks.

Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, last week ruled out the possibility of impeaching Rosenstein, saying there is not enough support for his ouster. 

“Impeach him for what?” Gowdy said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” “No.” 

Conservatives frustrated with Mueller’s investigation into Russian involvement in the 2016 presidential election have long targeted Rosenstein. Some lawmakers claim he has delayed their investigation into FBI agents involved in Mueller’s investigation who they feel are biased against Trump.  

Democrats, however, called the attempt at impeachment “a direct attack on the special counsel’s investigation.”

“It is a panicked and dangerous attempt to undermine an ongoing criminal investigation in an effort to protect President Trump as the walls are closing in around him and his associates,” said the top Democrats on the House Judiciary, Oversight and Government Reform, and House Intelligence committees, Reps. Jerrold Nadler (N.Y.), Elijah Cummings (Md.) and Adam Schiff (Calif.), in a joint statement.