WASHINGTON — Far-right Republican members of Congress have drafted impeachment articles against Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, but Rosenstein said Tuesday the Justice Department “is not going to be extorted.”
The Washington Post first reported that the House Freedom Caucus, an organization comprised of far-right and libertarian congressional members, finalized a draft that makes clear the ideological rift between Republican leaders and the caucus.
The draft articles of impeachment include allegations of misconduct against Rosenstein, which included his refusal to discipline or fire Justice Department personnel for alleged conflicts of interest in the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s email server in 2016. The articles also allege Rosenstein “knowingly and intentionally prevented the production” of documents in an effort to delay the initial investigation into President Donald Trump campaign’s contact with Russia.
“I just don’t have anything to say about documents like that, that nobody has the courage to put their name on and they leak in that way,” the Deputy Attorney General said when asked about the articles during a talk at the Newseum. “People have been making threats, privately and publicly against me for quite some time, and I think they should understand by now the Department of Justice is not going to be extorted.”
Rosenstein appointed special counsel Robert Mueller to investigate potential ties and possible collusion between Trump’s campaign and Russian officials during the 2016 election. Mueller’s appointment came after Trump fired FBI Director James Comey in May 2017 and used a memo released by Rosenstein to justify the action. Comey was leading a criminal investigation into Trump’s potential ties with Russia at the time of his dismissal.
Some Republican members of Congress such as Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., have announced their support for the investigation, but the president has called the investigation a “witch hunt” and referred to both Mueller and Rosenstein as “conflicted”. Graham has gone a step further to protect the investigation and drafted the Special Counsel Independence and Integrity Act, legislation meant to prevent Trump from firing Mueller.
According to the Justice Department and the Supreme Court, Rosenstein is the only person with the ability to relieve Mueller from his position. But the Senate Judiciary Committee took the extra precaution of approving Graham’s bill last Thursday to protect both the investigation as well as Mueller’s position.
Rosenstein’s talk at the Newseum came after the Justice Department removed language from its manual about racial gerrymandering as well as a subsection titled “Need for Free Press and Public Trial.” In its place, the Justice Department created new restrictions on media contacts by Justice Department personnel and more stringent limitations to the information that can be shared with the press.
According to Rosenstein, media coverage of this policy change in the manual had been misleading. The change was made last fall and focuses on the confidentiality of department employees.
“The First Amendment is protected here,” he said, holding up a pocket copy of the U.S. Constitution. “We respect [the media] doing your job, but we have to do our job.” The department has met with media organizations to discuss changes in policy, he said.
Rosenstein acknowledged that there have been significant changes in the priorities of the department based on Trump administration priorities but emphasized that the department has always followed the rule of law.
“I’ve devoted my career to the rule of law and the Department of Justice,” he said.
As for the removal of language related racial gerrymandering, a determination was made within the department that the guidance was unnecessary and outdated, Rosenstein said.