The House Freedom Caucus took an official position on Tuesday night that unless Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein testifies before Congress this week, he should resign.
The House Freedom Caucus, a coalition of roughly 40 conservative lawmakers, came to a consensus on Tuesday night that Rosenstein needs to testify before the House Judiciary Committee this week regarding reports that he wanted to secretly tape President Donald Trump and urged cabinet members to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove Trump as president.
The Freedom Caucus said in a statement on Tuesday, “Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein should come before the House Judiciary Committee within the week and testify under oath about his alleged comments, or he should resign immediately.”
Tonight, the @freedomcaucus took an official position:
Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein should come before the House Judiciary Committee within the week and testify under oath about his alleged comments, or he should resign immediately.
— Mark Meadows (@RepMarkMeadows) September 26, 2018
The Freedom Caucus echoes House Freedom Caucus chairman Mark Meadows’ (R-NC) statement, who said that Rosenstein should testify before Congress this past Saturday.
The North Carolina conservative charged, “I think the time is now that we need to hold those at DOJ and FBI accountable.”
Rep. Meadows said, “I think Rod needs to come before Congress this week and explain under oath what exactly he said and what exactly he didn’t say. I think it’s time.”
Reports this week initially suggested that Rosenstein resigned this week amid the reports that he wanted to secretly tape Trump. Now, President Trump and Rosenstein will meet Thursday over the news reports.
White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said that Trump and Rosenstein had an “extended conservation” Monday to discuss the recent reports at Rosenstein’s request.
Rosenstein oversees Robert Mueller’s investigation into alleged Russian collusion in the 2016 presidential election.
Meadows, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), and other House conservatives have frequently butted heads with Rosenstein.
In July, Meadows and Jordan introduced articles of impeachment against Rosenstein “for withholding ’embarrassing documents,’ knowingly hiding information from Congress, abusing the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) process, and ‘failure to comply with Congressional subpoenas.’”
Jordan said in a statement in July, “The DOJ is keeping information from Congress. Enough is enough. It’s time to hold Mr. Rosenstein accountable for blocking Congress’s constitutional oversight role.”
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