Rosenstein No Longer Expected To Appear Before Congress
- Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein will not face Congress this week to testify about reports that he offered to wear a wire during meetings with President Donald Trump.
- Republican lawmakers previously said they expected Rosenstein to show up for a closed-door hearing to discuss the reports.
- Rosenstein met Monday with Trump, who said he has no plans to fire the DOJs No. 2.
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein is no longer expected to testify before Congress this week about reports that he offered to wear a wire in meetings with President Donald Trump.
“We have many questions for Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein and expect answers to those questions. There is not at this time a confirmed date for a potential meeting,” an aide to the House Judiciary Committee told The Daily Caller News Foundation.
“Dont think he is coming,” one Republican lawmaker said Wednesday regarding Rosenstein.
The same lawmaker told TheDCNF on Tuesday that Rosenstein was likely to testify before the House Judiciary and House Oversight & Government Reform Committees to answer questions about claims he discussed wearing a wire during his interactions with Trump.
Members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus had called on Rosenstein to testify about his remarks, which were first reported by The New York Times on Sept. 21.
The conservative lawmakers, including North Carolina Rep. Mark Meadows and Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, have been staunch critics of Rosenstein because of his failure to respond to requests for documents related to the FBIs handling of the Trump-Russia probe.
TheNYT reported Rosenstein made an offer to wear a wire in May 2017 in meetings with other Justice Department and FBI officials. He also allegedly discussed using the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office. (RELATED: Report: Rosenstein Offered To Wear A Wire In Meetings With Trump)
The meetings occurred just after Trump fired James Comey as FBI director.
Rosensteins remarks were documented in a memo that then-FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe wrote following the meeting. McCabe, who was fired on March 16 for giving false statements regarding leaks to the media, was reportedly pushing to open an investigation into Trump over the decision to fire Comey.
Rosenstein issued a statement saying that he was joking about wearing a wire and that he never seriously discussed using the Constitution to depose Trump. Another Justice Department official spoke on background to reporters to deny McCabes claims.
Despite his denials, Rosenstein, who is overseeing the special counsels investigation, expected to be fired following the reports. But Trump was reportedly skeptical of TheNYTs report, and some Trump allies, including Fox News host Sean Hannity, said they questioned the report because the allegation came from McCabe, who has butted heads with both Rosenstein and Trump.
Trump finally met with Rosenstein on Monday. After the meeting, which took place on Air Force One, Trump said he has no plans to fire the Justice Department No. 2.
Rosensteins denials took another hit on Tuesday with reports from TheDCNF and others that former FBI general counsel James Baker told Congress earlier in October that McCabe and FBI attorney Lisa Page told him just after the meeting that they took Rosensteins comments seriously. (RELATED: Top FBI Lawyer Told Congress About Rosenstein Allegations)
The Justice Department did not respond to a request for comment.
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