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A battle has raged for weeks between President Donald Trump’s conservative allies in the House of Representatives and the Department of Justice over documents related to the Russia investigation — egged on by tweets from the president himself.
Now, on Thursday, that battle escalated with a vote by the full House of Representatives on a resolution to insist the DOJ comply with the House subpoenas and other document requests by July 6. The resolution passed along party lines, 226 to 183 votes.
Lawmakers put on hold a contentious House Judiciary hearing with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and FBI Director Christopher Wray — where GOP lawmakers were grilling them about those subpoenas — to take the vote.
The resolution is nonbinding, but it will effectively put every House member on record on where they stand in this feud — with the Justice Department, or with the president and his congressional allies who have tried to discredit special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe.
It could also set up a showdown over the fate of deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein, who oversees Mueller’s investigation, and who Trump has reportedly considered firing.
Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC), the House Freedom Caucus chair leading the charge against the DOJ, said Wednesday that “contempt and impeachment” of Rosenstein “will be in order” if he continues to refuse to hand over documents congressional Republicans want. Republican committee chairs like Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA) are also on board, and so far, they’ve been backed by Speaker Paul Ryan too.
The DOJ maintains it is complying with subpoenas, but that it also has an obligation to protect the ongoing investigation and its confidential sources. That response hasn’t satisfied House leaders — and it plays into the main gist of their allegation, which is that the DOJ and FBI are trying to protect themselves and prevent oversight into potential misconduct.
Meanwhile, Democrats say the attack on the DOJ is politically motivated, and an attempt to discredit the Russia investigation and give Trump a pretext to get rid of Rosenstein — the one person standing between Trump and Mueller.
What House Republicans say they want
Members are voting on a House resolution Thursday that demands the Department of Justice turn over documents relating to “potential violations of the Foreign Surveillance Act” by the DOJ and “other related matters” by July 6, 2018.
More broadly, the showdown is over a series of subpoenas to the Justice Department from both the House Intelligence Committee and the House Judiciary Committee — chaired by Nunes and Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), respectively.
For months, Nunes and Goodlatte have been demanding document after document related to the FBI’s investigations into Trump campaign aides’ Russia ties, and into investigations related to Hillary Clinton, from 2016.
They’ve wanted to know about the FBI and Justice Department’s use of the Steele dossier (the document alleging Trump-Russia collusion that was ultimately funded by the Clinton campaign and DNC). They want to know how DOJ justified surveilling Carter Page. They want to know about professor Stefan Halper, an FBI informant who contacted Trump aides in 2016 (which Trump has dubbed “Spygate”).
Lawmakers have also asked for materials related to investigations into Hillary Clinton’s email server and the Clinton Foundation, and about how the Clinton and Trump campaigns were briefed by the DOJ and FBI in 2016.
But the latest focus of Nunes’s demands is exactly how and when the FBI opened the investigation into the Trump campaign, and whether they used other “confidential human sources” before that counterintelligence investigation was officially opened on July 31, 2016.
The DOJ says, “we’re complying.” House Republicans say, “not enough.”
The Department of Justice said that it has turned over more than 800,000 documents for review, out of the approximately one million requested by congressional leaders, according to the Associated Press.
But House Republicans’ resolution accuses them of often being too slow to respond, too restrictive of access to some of the information they did provide, and of still not responding to certain requests at all.
The Justice Department has cited national security concerns about potentially exposing sources to danger. Another potential concern, though, is that the Trump-Russia probe is still ongoing — and the department may not want yet Trump’s allies to see what it’s found.
Still, the Justice Department handed over thousands of new documents at the end of last week, saying in two letters that they’ve largely complied with the subpoena demands and are still working on some other matters.
“Your letter asks whether the Department and the FBI ‘intend to obey’ the law,” Assistant Attorney General Stephen Boyd wrote Monday. “We believe that is exactly what the Department and the FBI have been doing.”
Nunes, however, has said he’s unsatisfied, and keeps filing new requests with shorter deadlines. Members of the House of Representatives will now take a vote to decide whether they back him here — though again, it’s nonbinding, and can’t actually compel the Justice Department to turn over documents.
Is this about oversight? Or something more?
House Republicans argue that this is all about oversight — making sure the executive branch didn’t abuse its power in investigating the Trump campaign.
But Democratic critics say this is all a plot to discredit the Mueller investigation. They think Trump’s allies are trying to hit the Justice Department with impossible demands, so they’ll either have to turn over extremely sensitive information about an ongoing message, or look bad by withholding it.
Some even think this is mainly about giving Trump an excuse to fire Rosenstein, who, again, is Mueller’s boss. Rep. Meadows and other Trump allies have been discussing impeaching Rosenstein since April. Rosenstein has dismissed these threats in the past, saying the Justice Department won’t be “extorted.”
Trump also seems enthusiastic about his allies’ demands. He has repeatedly criticized his Justice Department for not handing over “documents,” suggesting a possible cover-up.
A Rigged System - They don’t want to turn over Documents to Congress. What are they afraid of? Why so much redacting? Why such unequal “justice?” At some point I will have no choice but to use the powers granted to the Presidency and get involved!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 2, 2018
If the FBI or DOJ was infiltrating a campaign for the benefit of another campaign, that is a really big deal. Only the release or review of documents that the House Intelligence Committee (also, Senate Judiciary) is asking for can give the conclusive answers. Drain the Swamp!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 19, 2018
I have tried to stay uninvolved with the Department of Justice and FBI (although I do not legally have to), because of the now totally discredited and very expensive Witch Hunt currently going on. But you do have to ask why the DOJ & FBI aren’t giving over requested documents?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 25, 2018
What the House can actually do against Rosenstein is limited. A 2012 vote to hold then-Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt had little practical impact. An effort to impeach him, even if it passed the House, would likely fail in the Senate.
But impeachment of a Cabinet official has been quite rare, for one reason. “Once it becomes plausible that you might get impeached, chances are you’re going to resign or the president’s going to fire you,” Josh Chafetz, a professor of law at Cornell University, said.
Indeed, the president can fire Rosenstein, and has reportedly considered doing so. A big question is whether he thinks he can get away with it. A contempt or impeachment vote from the House could help him do that. The more discredited Rosenstein is politically, the more palatable his firing would be.
