Arizona congressmen Andy Biggs and Paul Gosar joined Rep. Mark Meadows and Rep. Jim Jordan in introducing Articles of Impeachment against Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.
Mr. Rosenstein’s Department is subject to constitutional checks and balances. I call on my colleagues to assert our constitutional responsibility and approve these articles of impeachment.
— Rep Andy Biggs (@RepAndyBiggsAZ) July 25, 2018
It’s time to stop letting unelected bureaucrats rule over the people’s house. Rod Rosenstein’s obstruction and reckless actions have completely undermined the American people. In order to restore the power to the people, we must impeach him. https://t.co/WKzNVBf8ek
— Rep. Paul Gosar, DDS (@RepGosar) July 26, 2018
In an interview on KFYI’s James T. Harris show, Biggs said Rosenstein “has failed to deliver the documents we requested, and when he has delivered them they are redacted to be almost unintelligible.”
According to Meadows, the impeachment articles come as evidence continues to mount regarding the Department of Justice’s problematic decision-making during the 2016 campaign and conduct surrounding the transition to President Trump’s administration in 2017. The impeachment articles are the result of nearly 9 months of unsuccessful Congressional attempts to force the Department of Justice (DOJ) to comply with oversight requests.
The failures cited within the articles include intentionally withholding embarrassing documents and information, knowingly hiding material investigative information from Congress, various abuses of the FISA process, and failure to comply with Congressional subpoenas, among others.
“With Attorney General Sessions’ recusal, Rod Rosenstein has been in charge of the Department of Justice as the agency has made every effort to obstruct legitimate attempts of Congressional oversight,” said Meadows on Wednesday. “The stonewalling over this last year has been just as bad or worse than under the Obama administration. Multiple times we’ve caught DOJ officials hiding information from Congress, withholding relevant documents, or even outright ignoring Congressional subpoenas—and now we have evidence that Mr. Rosenstein signed off on a document using unverified political opposition research as a cornerstone of a FISA application to spy on an American citizen working for the Trump campaign. This level of conduct, paired with the failure to even feign an interest in transparency, is reprehensible. And whether you’re a Republican or a Democrat, this kind of obstruction is wrong—period.”
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Meadows said after 9 months of warning Rosenstein that “consequences were coming,” it is “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,” said Rep. Jordan.
“Congress gave Mr. Rosenstein plenty of time to comply with our requests. We have been reasonable and up front with him. Unfortunately, at almost every opportunity, Mr. Rosenstein has resisted and defied Congress’s constitutional oversight. His time to obstruct our investigations has expired,” said Biggs.
“It’s time to stop letting unelected bureaucrats rule over the people’s house. Rod Rosenstein has repeatedly failed to deliver requested documents, ignored subpoenas and ultimately stonewalled Congress. His obstruction and reckless actions have completely undermined the American people,” Gosar said in a press release. “In order to restore the power to the people, we must impeach Rod Rosenstein.”
“Rod Rosenstein and the Department of Justice have repeatedly ignored Congressional requests and subpoenas, showing a complete disregard for Congressional oversight authority,” said Rep. Matt Gaetz. “In his capacity as Deputy AG, Mr. Rosenstein oversaw and approved of the likely-improper FISA warrant on Carter Page and subsequent surveillance of President Trump’s team. His leadership has weakened Americans’ faith in the intelligence community and in seeing justice served; he should be removed immediately.”