Key conservative: Republicans should focus on Sessions, not Rosenstein

A key conservative leader in the House says Republicans need to keep pressure on Attorney General Jeff Sessions instead of “redirecting” it at Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein with a resolution to impeach him.

“Many of the Republicans, our focus has been more frustrated with the attorney general rather than it has been Rosenstein,” Republican Study Committee (RSC) Chairman Rep. Mark Walker (R-N.C.) told reporters Thursday afternoon.

“I want to make sure that we are not redirecting that either. We want Mr. Sessions to continue to get beyond a little bit of the timidity and move forward,” Walker added.

Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), the chairman of the far-right Freedom Caucus, joined a handful of members late Wednesday in introducing a resolution to impeach Rosenstein, the No. 2 Justice Department official who is also overseeing special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation.

Meadows indicated Thursday that he is tabling efforts to impeach Rosenstein and will instead pursue charges of contempt of Congress for the senior Justice Department official unless the DOJ turns over documents that congressional committees are seeking.

But Walker, a member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said he’s taking his cues on Rosenstein from members of the GOP leadership, including Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, Oversight Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) and former prosecutor Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-Texas), noting that they “have experience” dealing with Justice Department.

“For example, John Ratcliffe is the only member of Congress that has any experience with the FISA warrant, so I yield to their expertise but I don’t want to do anything premature,” Walker said, adding that the more than monthlong August recess will be key to get the remaining documents.

“I think we’ve got about 85 percent of them,” Walker said, emphasizing that “if the president wants to declassify these documents, he can.”

–Molly Hooper