Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein hit back hard Tuesday at House Republicans who have threatened to file articles of impeachment against the Trump appointee over his handling of requests for documents related to various Department of Justice investigations.
“The Department of Justice is not going to be extorted,” Rosenstein said during an event hosted by the Freedom Forum Institute in Washington, D.C.
Several congressional committees have battled with Rosenstein over the documents, going as far as issuing subpoenas for them.
North Carolina Rep. Mark Meadows, the chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, told The Washington Post that impeachment is a “last resort option” that will be filed if the Justice Department fails to respond to pending document requests.
“My frustrations about their inability to respond to simple requests could warrant further action,” said Meadows, a confidant of President Donald Trump.
Trump has reportedly considered firing Rosenstein over his decision last May to appoint a special counsel to lead the Russia investigation.
“I just don’t have anything to say about documents like that that nobody has the courage to put their name on and that they leak in that way,” Rosenstein said Tuesday of the House Freedom Caucus.
“There have been people that have been making threats privately and publicly against me for quite some time, and I think they should understand by now the Department of Justice is not going to be extorted,” he said.