The head of the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday subpoenaed the Department of Justice (DOJ) for a series documents, including the memos of former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe.
Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) in a letter to Attorney General Jeff Sessions said his panel’s request for the McCabe documents comes after previous document requests went unfulfilled.
{mosads}Interest in the McCabe memos exploded last week after The New York Times published an article saying he documented Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein talking to other officials about wearing a wire to record President Trump following the firing, and that Rosenstein also discussed the possibility of Cabinet officials invoking the 25th Amendment to remove the president from office last year.
Rosenstein and the Justice Department have disputed the Times story.
McCabe released a statement denying that he provided “information of any kind to the media” about events following the firing of FBI Director James Comey, but he did not deny the existence of the memos cited by the times.
Goodlatte also subpoenaed supporting documents related to the FBI’s application for a surveillance warrant on former Trump campaign aide Carter Page — records that have long been sought by congressional Republicans.
The Judiciary Committee is also seeking to obtain all records shared with the so-called Gang of Eight leaders on Capitol Hill related to the federal investigation into Russian interference.
“[W]e have requested additional documents (listed in the document schedule for the attached subpoena) that the Department has either refused to produce or has continually delayed producing,” Goodlatte wrote in his letter to Sessions, who recused himself from the Russia probe last year. “Review of these documents is essential to our investigation.”
“Accordingly, given the Department’s ongoing delays and/or refusal to produce these documents, I am left with no choice but to issue the enclosed subpoena to compel their production,” Goodlatte added.
The documents are part of a joint investigation by the House Judiciary and House Oversight and Government Reform committees into FBI decision-making during the 2016 presidential campaign.
Republicans have alleged that political bias against Trump during the heated presidential race, and they’re eager to see if the McCabe memos provide further evidence to back up their assertions.
Democrats have described the investigation as nothing more than political theater. They argue the House Republicans are seeking to distract or undermine special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference and possible collusion between Moscow and the Trump campaign.
Democrats also warned that they would be setting a dangerous precedent by going after sensitive documents tied to an ongoing investigation.
“House Republicans are playing a very dangerous game by attempting to force the Department of Justice to reveal materials relating to an ongoing criminal investigation in order to protect President Trump,” wrote Reps. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) and Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), the top Democrats on the Judiciary and Oversight panels, respectively.
“Republicans have shown time and time again that they are willing to cherry pick, mischaracterize, and leak sensitive law enforcement and counter intelligence information, putting our national security at risk. Rather than doing the job Congress is meant to do — providing an independent check on the Executive Branch and holding the Administration accountable — House Republicans continue to abet the President as the walls close in around him.”
— Updated 4:24 p.m.