Republican leaders of the House Judiciary and Oversight committees have postponed Wednesday's planned interview with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein after some of President Trump's staunchest congressional allies complained they were not going to be included.
CNN:
House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte and Oversight Chairman Trey Gowdy said in a statement Wednesday they were postponing the interview because they would be "unable to ask all questions of Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein within the time allotted for tomorrow's transcribed interview."
"Mr. Rosenstein has indicated his willingness to testify before the Judiciary and Oversight Committees in the coming weeks in either a transcribed interview or a public setting," the lawmakers said. "We appreciate his willingness to appear and will announce further details once it has been rescheduled."
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Rosenstein had been scheduled to be interviewed in a classified setting by the Republicans and Democrats who lead the Judiciary and Oversight Committees: Goodlatte and Gowdy and ranking Democrats Jerry Nadler and Elijah Cummings. A transcript of the interview was to be released after it was reviewed by the intelligence community, the committees said last week.
But that format excluded rank-and-file committee members from the proceedings, including leaders of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, Reps. Mark Meadows and Jim Jordan, who have proposed impeaching Rosenstein — and expressed their anger over the setup.
"That is completely unacceptable for those of us who have been involved in this issue now," Jordan said last week.
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The fight is only the latest showdown between Rosenstein and Trump's congressional allies, who have feuded for months about document requests related to the congressional probe into the FBI and Justice Department, sparking the initial calls for Rosenstein's impeachment.
Rosenstein's critics have pressed Goodlatte to subpoena Rosenstein, instead of allowing him to voluntarily appear under Wednesday's planned setting. Meadows last week called for Rosenstein to step down immediately, hours before the interview was announced, charging that Rosenstein was avoiding congressional oversight.
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein interview on Capitol Hill has been postponed (CNN)