Rep. Mark Walker (R-N.C.), chairman of the conservative Republican Study Committee, on Thursday said he is opposed to a push from members of the House Freedom Caucus to impeach Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.
Walker told reporters on Capitol Hill that he would vote against any effort to impeach Rosenstein in the House a day after two members of the House Freedom Caucus joined nine co-sponsors to announce articles of impeachment against Rosenstein.
“I think the real focus needs to be on the attorney general and Department of Justice as a whole. I just don’t know about this play here. I’m not a lawyer, I don’t mean to brag, but I yield to those who have the experience,” Walker said.
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“When you have something this sensitive, I don’t want to turn it into something that is political,” Walker continued. “Historically we have not done this before, so I want to make sure it’s the right play.”
A reporter pressed the lawmaker on if he would vote “no” if the articles came to the floor.
“That’s correct” Walker responded.
Freedom Caucus Chairman Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) joined Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan (R) in introducing the measure on Wednesday.
“For nine months we’ve warned them consequences were coming, and for nine months we’ve heard the same excuses backed up by the same unacceptable conduct,” said Meadows of warning the Department of Justice. “Time is up and the consequences are here. It’s time to find a new Deputy Attorney General who is serious about accountability and transparency.”
The articles of impeachment contain a series of allegations against Rosenstein including a charge that he did not recuse himself from the ongoing special counsel investigation in which the lawmakers claim Rosenstein could be called to testify as a witness.
Democrats roundly criticized the effort after the announcement, calling it an assault on the special counsel investigation and an attempt to aid the president.
“It is a panicked and dangerous attempt to undermine an ongoing criminal investigation in an effort to protect President Trump as the walls are closing in around him and his associates,” said the top Democrats on the House Judiciary, Oversight and Government Reform and Intelligence committees, Reps. Jerrold Nadler (N.Y.), Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) and Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), respectively, in a joint statement.