A visibly frustrated Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC) unleashed on Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and FBI Director Chris Wray during Congressional testimony on Thursday, lashing out at FBI agent Peter Strzok’s bias against Donald Trump while investigating him – before telling Rosenstein that the ongoing Russia investigation is tearing the country apart.
Transcript follows:
For Peter Strzok – at precisely the same time that Bob Mueller was appointed – precisely the same time, Peter Strzok was talking about his “unfinished business” and how he needed to fix and finish it so Donald Trump did not become President. He was talking about impeachment within three days of special counsel Mueller being appointed!
Three days! That’s even quicker than MSNBC and the Democrats were talking about impeaching him. Within three days, the lead FBI agent is talking about impeaching the president.
We’re two years into this investigation, we’re a year and a half into the presidency. We’re over a year into the special counsel. You have a counterintelligence investigation that’s become public. You have a criminal investigation that’s become political. You have more bias than I have ever seen manifest in a law enforcement officer in the 20 years I used to do it for a living. And four other DOJ employees who had manifest animus towards the person they were supposed to be neutrally and detachedly investigating.
More than 60 Democrats have already voted to proceed with impeachment before Bob Mueller has found a single solitary damn thing! More than 60 have voted to move forward with impeachment! And he hasn’t presented his first finding!
Russia attacked this country, they should be the target. But Russia isn’t being hurt by this investigation right now, we are. This country is being hurt by it. We are being divided. We’ve seen the bias. We need to see the evidence.
If you have evidence of wrongdoing by any member of the Trump campaign, present it to the damn grand jury. If you have evidence that this president acted inappropriately, present it to the American people.
There’s an old saying: “Justice delayed is justice denied.” I think right now that all of us are being denied.
Watch:
A defensive Rosenstein pushed back after Gowdy’s speech, responding that he has “heard suggestions that we should just close the investigation. I think the best thing we can do is finish it appropriately and reach a conclusion.”
Thursday’s Congressional testimony was full of contentious moments. In one exchange described by CNN’s ever-impartial Jason Morrell as “Rosenstein skillfully SMACKS DOWN” Rep. Jim Jordan,” the Deputy AG elicited laughter when he told the Congressman “There’s no way to subpoena phone calls.”
Rod Rosenstein skillfully SMACKS DOWN Rep. Jim Jordan in a cinematic way…
“There’s no way to subpoena phone calls.”
Must watch: https://t.co/rAbWDIt1k1
— Jason K. Morrell (@CNNJason) June 28, 2018
Jordan also pressed Rosenstein over a variety of other issues.
– Slow document delivery from the DOJ
– “Why did you hide the fact that Peter Strzok and Judge Contreras were friends?” (The original judge in Mike Flynn case)
– “Did you threaten staffers on the House Intelligence committee?”
– Peter Strzok’s Wednesday testimony which FBI attorneys repeatedly muzzled
“Why’d you tell Mr. Strozk not to answer our questions yesterday, Mr. Rosenstein?” -Jim Jordan
— Jordan Rachel (@TheJordanRachel) June 28, 2018
Full exchange here:
Complete exchange between Rep. @Jim_Jordan and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.
Rosenstein: “Your use of this to attack me personally is wrong.”
Jordan: “It’s not personal.” pic.twitter.com/kR0ornT5Gs
— CSPAN (@cspan) June 28, 2018
In another segment, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) grilled Rosenstein over demoted DOJ official Bruce Ohr, whose wife Nellie Ohr was working for Fusion GPS in an effort to produce opposition research on Candidate Trump. Gaetz also asked whether or not Rosenstein had read the FISA warrant renewal he signed, reauthorizing an ongoing surveillance operation on Trump campaign aide Carter Page.
In short, GOP sabre rattling was met with smug indignancy as a visibly annoyed and very confident Rosenstein batted their questions away like gnats.
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