Attorney General Jeff Sessions defended his second-in-command Rod Rosenstein on Thursday, after House lawmakers introduced an impeachment resolution against him late Wednesday.
“My deputy, Rod Rosenstein, is highly capable. I have the highest confidence in him,” Sessions said during a speech in Boston.
A group of Trump-aligned Republicans in the House on Wednesday introduced articles of impeachment to remove him. Rosenstein, who was appointed by Trump, currently oversees special counsel Robert Mueller, who is investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election and possible connections to the Trump campaign.
“What I would like Congress to do is to focus on some of the legal challenges that are out there,” Sessions said, citing illegal immigration.
[Also read: Alan Dershowitz argues ‘stupid’ GOP efforts to impeach Rod Rosenstein will help Democrats impeach Trump]
Attorney General Jeff Sessions: “My deputy, Rod Rosenstein, is highly capable. I have the highest confidence in him.” pic.twitter.com/4vwB7ASvps
— Fox News (@FoxNews) July 26, 2018
In a press release, Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and nine other lawmakers accused the Justice Department of withholding “embarrassing documents and information” related to investigations into Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.
The resolution came out hours after the Justice Department told Meadows and other GOP lawmakers on Capitol Hill Wednesday that it had almost fully complied with what an official characterized as a historically large demand for documents. The document the Justice Department says it will never turn over is the classified memo signed by Rosenstein outlining the scope of Mueller’s investigation.
House Intelligence and Judiciary Committee leaders were already told this month by a top official that the Justice Department had “substantially complied with” sizable documents requests from the two panels.
Democrats have accused Republicans of going at Rosenstein to chip away at Mueller’s investigation.
“The attack on Rosenstein, of course, is an attack on the Mueller investigation,” House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said Thursday. “What they’re making is a statement: President Trump is above the law. Period. It’s a sad thing.”
Former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, called the impeachment “absurd” on Twitter.
“While the absurd threat to impeach Rod Rosenstein will undoubtedly fail, using the Department of Justice as a prop for political theater does lasting damage to this vital democratic institution. The men and women of DOJ and the people of our country deserve better,” Yates tweeted.
While the absurd threat to impeach Rod Rosenstein will undoubtedly fail, using the Department of Justice as a prop for political theater does lasting damage to this vital democratic institution. The men and women of DOJ and the people of our country deserve better.
— Sally Yates (@SallyQYates) July 26, 2018
However, Meadows told CNN early Thursday that the impeachment is “not about interfering” with Mueller, and that he is still considering making the resolution privileged to get a vote sometime before the house goes on recess midday Thursday until Sept. 4.
Meadows said they are “still in negotiations to find a production schedule that works.”
A majority of Meadows and Jordan’s House colleagues would also have to support the resolution, where it would then have to win by a two-thirds majority in the Senate.
