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Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein on Thursday defended Republican lawmakers who accused him of misconduct and obstruction – claims that he angrily denied – in a quarrel over course on FBI investigations on Hillary Clinton and President Trump. Director Christopher A. Wray began testifying Thursday morning before the House Judiciary Committee on a report from the Inspector General describing serious flaws in the way federal law enforcement was conducting a high-profile investigation on the use of a private mail server by Hillary Clinton.
At the beginning of the hearing, GOP lawmakers focused on Rosenstein, rather than the FBI. For months, Trump supporters have asked Rosenstein to be sacked because of disagreements over requests for lawmakers' investigation papers and his oversight of Special Adviser Robert S. Mueller III, who was investigating Trump's complicity with Russia during the 2016 presidential campaign.
Dem. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) has launched a series of charges against Rosenstein. "Why do you keep Congress information?", He asked.
Rosenstein denied doing so.
"I do not agree with you, member of Congress," he said. "This is not accurate, sir."
Jordan also accused the Deputy Attorney General of having redacted documents to conceal embarrbading information to the FBI
. Jordan, I'm the Deputy Attorney General of the United States. I'm not the person doing the writing, "Rosenstein replied.
As Jordan asked him questions, Rosenstein replied," Your use of this to attack me personally is deeply flawed. . . . I do not try to hide anything. "
Jordan replied," This is not personal, "as both continued to argue and Democrats on the panel attempted to intervene in Rosenstein's defense. Trey Gowdy (RS.C .) delivered a long monologue on the anti-Trump text messages exchanged by some FBI officials, then pleaded with Rosenstein to conclude the Russian investigation quickly.
"We saw the bias, we have to see the evidence, "said Gowdy." If you have evidence of wrongdoing on the part of a member of the Trump campaign, present it to the grand jury. If you have evidence that this president acted inappropriately, present it to the American people. There is an old saying that delayed justice is justice denied. I think we are all denied right now. Whatever it is, finish it, because this country is torn apart. "
Rosenstein responded that he shared Gowdy's concerns, but added," With respect to the investigation, I have heard suggestions that investigation. I think the best thing we can do is finish it appropriately and come to a conclusion. "
Rep. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) Pressed Rosenstein to explain why he had not objected to watching Mueller, given that Rosenstein wrote a note justifying the dismissal of James B. Comey as as director of the FBI last year – events that are now being studied by Mueller
"I can badure you that if it was appropriate that I challenge, I would be more than happy to do so and let someone else take care of that, "said Rosenstein smiling
his role in different parts of the investigation of Russia, but the sub- Attorney General said that he could not talk about clbadified information. "Because Attorney General Jeff Sessions has challenged the investigations related to the 2016 campaign, Rosenstein is the acting Attorney General of the Russian probe
The audience is the first time Rosenstein responds Publicly asked questions from lawmakers on Inspector General Michael E. The Horowitz report, which castigates Comey and finds that senior office officials affected both Clinton's e-mail and the investigation into the problem. Russia's electoral interference had shown a "willingness to take official action" to prevent Trump from becoming president.
Republicans and Democrats on the Judiciary Committee of the House argued over Horowitz's findings, with Republicans suggesting that anti-Trump sentiment at the FBI had deeper consequences that the Inspector General acknowledged. Democrats point out his finding that the bias did not ultimately affect the prosecutors' decision not to accuse Clinton of a crime.
Horowitz appeared alone at a hearing before the committee last week.
Rosenstein appears before the notable committee because he has become a hotbed of anger by conservative lawmakers upset by what they see as his inability to hand over documents on Clinton's and Russia's cases. The House is expected to vote Thursday on a resolution ordering Rosenstein to provide documents.
Wray swore to discipline those still at the FBI whose conduct interrogated the Inspector General, and already, the office took action against shooting officer Peter Strzok, who once led the Clinton's e-mail and polls from Russia. The Inspector General found anti-Trump text messages between Strzok and FBI lawyer Lisa Page, including one in which Strzok said "we'll stop" that Trump becomes president. The Inspector General concluded that the messages implied that officials had "the will to take official action" to undermine the chances of becoming Trump's president.
Strzok's lawyer challenged this finding and argued that Strzok's actions served only to hurt Clinton and serve Trump. Strzok testified privately for several hours before the Judiciary Committee of the House on Wednesday.
Karoun Demirjian contributed to this report.
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