House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WY) is suggesting some hardline conservative House members take a step back and let President Trump handle his relationship with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.
"The president obviously should have political appointees he has faith and confidence in. [Rosenstein] is meeting with the president tomorrow, so we should not step in the way of that,” Ryan told reporters on Wednesday. “We should let the president work it out with Rod Rosenstein. I hope they have a good productive conversation, and I hope that’s helpful.”
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The Speaker’s comments come in contrast to leaders of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, who are calling on Rosenstein to testify in front of Congress or else resign or be impeached, regardless of the outcome of Thursday’s high-stakes meeting at the White House.
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"There's a meeting in the Speaker's office today that I think will be very instructive on that outcome," conservative Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) told The Hill. "Those of us who would like to see Rosenstein in the witness chair are going to have the ability to make our argument. And hopefully we'll prevail on the Speaker to allow that to occur."
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[House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob] Goodlatte (R-VA) has so far shown no indication that he plans to invite Rosenstein to testify. Instead, the panel announced Tuesday night that it is preparing to subpoena the Justice Department for memos written by former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe.
The memos were the basis for The New York Times’s bombshell report last week and have long been sought by conservatives.
Committee Republicans informed the Democrats of their intent to subpoena McCabe’s memos Tuesday night. The committee’s procedures require that the minority be given 48 hours’ notice before subpoenas are issued for documents or testimony, meaning the subpoena could be issued as early as Thursday.
Committee Democrats also learned that Republicans were planning to call [former FBI Director James] Comey, as well as former attorney general Loretta E. Lynch, former acting attorney general Sally Yates, former Trump campaign aide George Papadopoulos — who recently pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI — and Glenn Simpson, the head of Fusion GPS, the research firm behind a now-famousdossier detailing allegations of President Trump’s business and personal ties to Russia.
Democrats were upset that committee Republicans had been negotiating with potential witnesses without consulting them. They only discovered that the witnesses had been contacted because of communications with one witness’s lawyer, according to a spokesman for the panel’s minority; Democrats then demanded to know whether other letters had been sent out.
“The Republican majority was initiating negotiations with interviewees without consulting with us, while presenting it as if they were,” said a spokesman for Judiciary Committee Democrats. “That is not just dishonest, it is misleading.”
Meanwhile, Senate Republicans have been urging Trump not to fire Rosenstein — offering a split-screen view of the dueling priorities of Senate and House Republicans heading into the November elections.
“If there's any attempt to fire or force out Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein, that would be a huge red line and very problematic,” moderate Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) told CNN.
“I like Rosenstein personally,” added Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. If Trump fires Rosenstein, “it would cause a furor that I don't think we need right now.”
Ryan wants GOP to leave Rosenstein to Trump (The Hill)
House GOP planning to subpoena McCabe memos, call key witnesses (WaPo)