Title: Impeaching Rod Rosenstein, the Deputy Attorney General of the United States, for high crimes and misdemeanors.
Policy area: Government Operations and Politics

Summary:
Impeaches Rod Rosenstein, the Deputy Attorney General of the United States, for high crimes and misdemeanors.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1028 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 1028

 Impeaching Rod Rosenstein, the Deputy Attorney General of the United 
               States, for high crimes and misdemeanors.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 25, 2018

Mr. Meadows (for himself, Mr. Jordan, Mr. Jody B. Hice of Georgia, Mr. 
   Duncan of South Carolina, Mr. Biggs, Mr. Gohmert, Mr. Gaetz, Mr. 
    DesJarlais, Mr. Gosar, Mr. Posey, and Mr. Perry) submitted the 
   following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the 
                               Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Impeaching Rod Rosenstein, the Deputy Attorney General of the United 
               States, for high crimes and misdemeanors.

    Resolved, That Rod Rosenstein, Deputy Attorney General of the 
United States, is impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors, and that 
the following articles of impeachment be exhibited to the Senate:
     Articles of impeachment exhibited by the House of Representatives 
of the United States of America in the name of itself and all of the 
people of the United States of America, against Rod Rosenstein, Deputy 
Attorney General of the United States, in maintenance and support of 
its impeachment against him for high crimes and misdemeanors.

                               article i

    On March 2, 2017, Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself 
from any matter potentially relating to the 2016 campaign. Upon the 
Attorney General's recusal, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein 
assumed responsibility to oversee the Department's response to the 
congressional investigations of the Department of Justice and FBI.
    On July 27, 2017, House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte and 19 
Members of Congress requested a second Special Counsel to conduct a 
comprehensive investigation into matters related to the 2016 
Presidential campaign that appear to be outside the scope of Special 
Counsel Mueller's investigation.
    On September 26, 2017, House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte and 
13 Members of Congress sent a letter repeating the call for a second 
Special Counsel.
    On March 6, 2018, Chairman Goodlatte and Chairman Gowdy called for 
the appointment of a second Special Counsel to investigate these 
matters due to the actual or potential conflicts of interests related 
to certain prosecutorial and investigative decisions made and not made 
by the Department of Justice in 2016 and 2017.
    On March 29, 2018, Attorney General Sessions wrote in a letter to 
Chairman Chuck Grassley, Chairman Bob Goodlatte, and Chairman Trey 
Gowdy that he would not appoint a second Special Counsel to investigate 
these matters despite the apparent and actual conflicts of interests of 
current and former Department of Justice and FBI employees.
    On May 22, 2018, Rep. Lee Zeldin, along with 31 Members of 
Congress, introduced H. Res. 907, a resolution expressing the sense of 
Congress that the Attorney General should appoint a second Special 
Counsel.
    On July 21, 2018, the Department of Justice released a heavily 
redacted set of documents containing the Carter Page FISA warrant 
application and subsequent renewals. Upon reviewing the documents, it 
is evident Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein signed an FBI application 
to renew FISA surveillance on Carter Page.
    As such, his conduct in authorizing the FISA surveillance at issue 
in the joint congressional investigation makes him a fact witness 
central to the ongoing investigation of potential FISA abuse. Deputy 
Attorney General Rosenstein's failure to recuse himself in light of 
this inherent conflict of interest and failure to recommend the 
appointment of a second Special Counsel constitute dereliction of duty.
    Wherefore, Rod Rosenstein, by such conduct, warrants impeachment 
and trial, and removal from office.

                               article ii

    Mr. Rosenstein and the Department of Justice have repeatedly failed 
to produce documents requested by the Committee on the Judiciary and 
the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, despite the 
committees' constitutional duty to conduct oversight of the FBI and 
broader Department of Justice.
    On October 24, 2017, the Committee on Judiciary and the Committee 
on Oversight and Government Reform opened a joint investigation into 
the decisions made by the Department of Justice in 2016 and 2017 
related to their handling of the Secretary Clinton email investigation.
    On November 3, 2017, Chairman Goodlatte, Chairman Gowdy, and four 
Members of Congress, sent a letter to Attorney General Sessions and 
Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein requesting documents related to 
certain prosecutorial and investigative decisions the Department of 
Justice's made during the 2016 election.
    On December 12, 2017, Chairman Goodlatte, Chairman Gowdy, and other 
members sent a letter in furtherance of their previous document 
requests, urging the Department to provide withheld documents, and to 
comply with the Committees' previous instructions to provide a 
privilege log for documents withheld or redacted on the basis of a 
privilege. Mr. Rosenstein and the Department of Justice have refused to 
provide a privilege log for these documents, despite producing 
documents to Congress that are so redacted they contain little 
probative information.
    On February 1, 2018, Chairman Goodlatte sent a letter requesting 
documents related to alleged abuses of the Foreign Intelligence 
Surveillance Act (``FISA'') related to members of the Trump campaign. 
As Deputy Attorney General of the United States, Mr. Rosenstein is to 
act on behalf of the Attorney General for purposes of authorizing 
searches and electronic surveillance under the FISA.
    On March 22, 2018, Chairman Goodlatte issued a subpoena compelling 
Mr. Rosenstein and the Department of Justice to produce documents after 
the Department failed to fully comply with the Committee on the 
Judiciary and the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform's 
document requests. In requesting documents related to alleged abuses of 
FISA related to members of the Trump campaign, the subpoena requested:
            (1) All documents and communications with the Foreign 
        Intelligence Surveillance Court (``FISC'') referring or 
        relating to any Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act 
        (``FISA'') applications associated with Carter Page or 
        individuals on President Trump's 2016 Presidential campaign or 
        part of the Trump administration.
            (2) All documents and communications referring or relating 
        to FISC hearings and deliberations, including any court 
        transcripts, related to any FISA applications associated with 
        Carter Page or the Trump campaign or Trump administration.
            (3) All documents and communications referring or relating 
        to defensive briefings provided by the Department of Justice or 
        FBI to the 2016 Presidential campaigns of Hillary Clinton or 
        President Trump.
            (4) All documents and communications referring or relating 
        to proposed, recommended, or actual FISA coverage on the 
        Clinton Foundation or persons associated or in communication 
        with the Clinton Foundation.
The Department of Justice has violated this congressional subpoena by 
failing to fully produce each of these categories of documents.
    Following the issuance of the March 22 subpoena, Mr. Rosenstein and 
the Department of Justice have refused to comply with a Memorandum-of-
Understanding negotiated with the Committee on the Judiciary and the 
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform to expedite the production 
of documents.
    Whereas the Department of Justice has missed document production 
deadlines, produced duplicative pages of information, and has redacted 
pages to the point where they contain little probative information.
    Whereas additional documents provided to Members of Congress in 
July 2018 by whistleblowers demonstrate under Mr. Rosenstein's 
leadership the Department of Justice and FBI have knowingly and 
intentionally withheld documents within the scope of the joint 
congressional investigation to avoid oversight.
    On June 27, 2018, witness testimony provided in a transcribed 
interview with members of the Committee on the Judiciary and the 
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform revealed the Department of 
Justice and Special Counsel Mueller had instructed material fact 
witnesses to refuse to provide testimony within the jurisdiction of the 
committees' joint investigation; even though much of this information 
is not law enforcement sensitive and available through open source 
media reporting.
    On July 13, 2018, witness testimony provided in a transcribed 
interview with members of the Committee on the Judiciary and the 
Committee on Oversight and Government Reform revealed the Department of 
Justice had failed to notify material fact witnesses of repeated 
congressional requests for their testimony.
    Wherefore, Rod Rosenstein, by such conduct, warrants impeachment 
and trial, and removal from office.

                              article iii

    Upon in camera review of documents at the Department of Justice, it 
was revealed the Department, under the supervision of Mr. Rosenstein, 
attempted to conceal certain facts as documents provided to Congress 
were heavily and unnecessarily redacted. Most of the redacted documents 
containing material investigative information did not contain law-
enforcement-sensitive information, the Department's stated basis for 
redactions.
    The Department of Justice, under the supervision of Mr. Rosenstein, 
unnecessarily redacted the price of FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe's 
$70,000 conference table because it was potentially embarrassing 
information.
    The Department of Justice, under the supervision of Mr. Rosenstein, 
redacted FBI Agent Peter Strzok's personal relationship with FISC Judge 
Rudolph Contreras.
    The Department of Justice, under the supervision of Mr. Rosenstein, 
redacted the names of high-ranking Obama administration officials, such 
as former White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough.
    The Department of Justice, under the supervision of Mr. Rosenstein, 
redacted the names of high-ranking FBI officials, such as former Deputy 
Director Andrew McCabe.
    The Department of Justice acknowledged the unnecessary redactions 
and agreed that some information should not have been redacted in an 
April 16, 2018, letter to Representatives Meadows and Jordan.
    Wherefore, Rod Rosenstein, by such conduct, warrants impeachment 
and trial, and removal from office.

                               article iv

    On May 17, 2017, Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein appointed 
Robert S. Mueller III as the Special Counsel to investigate possible 
ties between the Trump campaign and Russia. In May 2017, Mr. Rosenstein 
authored the initial memo articulating the scope of the Special Counsel 
investigation's jurisdiction.
    On August 2, 2017, Mr. Rosenstein drafted a memo articulating the 
scope of the Special Counsel investigation which began by noting ``the 
following allegations were within the scope of the investigation at the 
time of your appointment and are within the scope of the order'', with 
nearly everything following the mention of those initial allegations 
redacted.
    Mr. Rosenstein's memo is a classified document and almost 
completely redacted, raising concerns the appointment of Robert S. 
Mueller III as Special Counsel began outside the scope of regulations 
for Special Counsel investigations by originating on a 
counterintelligence, rather than criminal, basis.
    Mr. Rosenstein's memo also raises concerns given Special Counsel 
investigations are not warranted by the existence of mere allegations, 
and require there be facts evident warranting a ``criminal 
investigation of a person or matter''.
    Mr. Rosenstein's memo raises fundamental concerns related to the 
Government's basis for alleging ``collusion'' between the Trump 
campaign and Russia, and whether these allegations resulted in 
potential crimes warranting investigation.
    Despite the significant public interest in the matter and the 
constitutional authority of Congress to conduct oversight of the 
Department of Justice, Mr. Rosenstein has repeatedly failed to provide 
a less-redacted version of this scope memo, even in a classified 
setting.
    Wherefore, Rod Rosenstein, by such conduct, warrants impeachment 
and trial, and removal from office.

                               article v

    In his capacity as Deputy Attorney General of the United States, 
Mr. Rosenstein oversaw the potentially improper authorization of FISA 
searches and electronic surveillance of members of the Trump campaign.
    As evidenced by the July 21, 2018, release of the Carter Page FISA 
application, under Mr. Rosenstein's supervision, the ``dossier'' 
compiled by Christopher Steele on behalf of the Democratic National 
Committee and the Hillary Clinton campaign formed a material part of 
the FISA application.
    Under Mr. Rosenstein's supervision, the Department of Justice and 
FBI intentionally obfuscated the fact the dossier was originally a 
political opposition research document before the FISC.
    Under Mr. Rosenstein's supervision, Christopher Steele's political 
opposition research was neither vetted before it was used in October 
2016 nor fully revealed to the FISC, given Director Comey's June 2017 
testimony the dossier was ``salacious and unverified''.
    As Deputy Attorney General, Mr. Rosenstein has failed in his 
responsibility for the proper authorization of searches under FISA, and 
his conduct related to the surveillance of American citizens working on 
the Trump campaign has permanently undermined both public and 
congressional confidence in significant counterintelligence program 
processes.
    Under Mr. Rosenstein's supervision, the public's confidence in the 
integrity of the FISA process depends on the court's ability to hold 
the Government to the highest-standard-particularly as it relates to 
surveillance of American citizens.
    Given Mr. Rosenstein's oversight of the FISA process is a central 
issue in the current congressional investigation into certain decisions 
made and not made by the Department of Justice and FBI in 2016 and 
2017, he has actual and potential conflicts of interest requiring the 
appointment of a second Special Counsel.
    Wherefore, Rod Rosenstein, by such conduct, warrants impeachment 
and trial, and removal from office.
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