Congress is on the verge of pulling the trigger.
Key members have drafted articles of impeachment.
And now all hell is breaking loose.
House Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows is at the end of his rope.
Republicans in Congress have been digging into the FBI and Department of Justice’s misconduct during the 2016 election.
But Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein is pulling every bureaucratic trick in the book to stymie their efforts to bring the truth to light.
So Congress has now drafted articles of impeachment against Rosenstein, which Meadows says is only a weapon of last resort.
The Washington Post reports:
“The draft states that Rosenstein allegedly “engaged in a pattern of conduct incompatible with the trust and confidence placed in him in that position by refusing to comply with a subpoena issued by the House Committee on the Judiciary on March 22, 2018,” connected to the congressional investigation into potential abuses of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).
The caucus also alleges that Rosenstein “failed to enforce multiple laws” including “improper authorization of searches and electronic surveillance” under FISA, and “failed to act on behalf of the Attorney General by properly supervising the administration of FISA by failing to demonstrate probable cause to believe the targets of surveillance were a foreign power or agents of a foreign power.”
The draft was referring to the multiple FISA warrants obtained to conduct surveillance on former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page. Rosenstein signed at least one renewal of the original FISA warrant, with others signed by former FBI Director James Comey, former Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe, former Acting Attorney General Sally Yates, and other Justice Department officials.
McCabe, in Senate testimony, said that the controversial anti-Trump dossier was the basis for FBI and DOJ officials seeking FISA warrants.
The draft also alleges that Rosenstein “failed his oath of office” by “refusing to discipline” Justice Department personnel after “obtaining evidence of disqualifying conflicts of interest demonstrated throughout the course of the ongoing investigation regarding charging decisions in the investigation surrounding former Secretary Clinton’s private email server.”
According to the document, Rosenstein “knowingly provided misleading statements related to this supervision” of the Justice Department investigation into the Trump campaign’s alleged contacts with Russia. The draft suggests the misleading statement came during a hearing on Dec. 13, 2017, when he said “any involvement FBI attorney Bruce Ohr had in the Russian investigation was without his knowledge.”
Rosenstein responded by firing back that he will “not be extorted.”
But Congress – under Article I of the Constitution – has oversight authority over the FBI and DOJ.
Only a bureaucrat drunk with power would object to Congress exercising the authority it was delegated by the Founding Fathers.
Rosenstein’s loyalty should be to the Constitution.
Unfortunately Rosenstein believes he pledges allegiance to Robert Mueller and the Deep State.