j*********r
发帖数: 24733 | 1 Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein threatened to “subpoena” emails,
phone records and other documents from lawmakers and staff on a Republican-
led House committee during a tense meeting earlier this year, according to
emails reviewed by Fox News documenting the encounter and reflecting what
aides described as a "personal attack."
The emails memorialized a January 2018 closed-door meeting involving senior
FBI and Justice Department officials as well as members of the House
Intelligence Committee. The account claimed Rosenstein threatened to turn
the tables on the committee's inquiries regarding the Russia probe.
“The DAG [Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein] criticized the Committee for
sending our requests in writing and was further critical of the Committee’s
request to have DOJ/FBI do the same when responding,” the committee's then
-senior counsel for counterterrorism Kash Patel wrote to the House Office of
General Counsel. “Going so far as to say that if the Committee likes being
litigators, then ‘we [DOJ] too [are] litigators, and we will subpoena your
records and your emails,’ referring to HPSCI [House Permanent Select
Committee on Intelligence] and Congress overall.”
A second House committee staffer at the meeting backed up Patel’s account,
writing: “Let me just add that watching the Deputy Attorney General launch
a sustained personal attack against a congressional staffer in retaliation
for vigorous oversight was astonishing and disheartening. ... Also, having
the nation’s #1 (for these matters) law enforcement officer threaten to '
subpoena your calls and emails' was downright chilling.”
The committee staffer noted that Rosenstein’s comment could be interpreted
as meaning the department would “vigorously defend a contempt action" --
which might be expected. But the staffer continued, "I also read it as a not
-so-veiled threat to unleash the full prosecutorial power of the state
against us.”
“The FBI disagrees with a number of characterizations of the meeting as
described in the excerpts of a staffer’s emails provided to us by Fox News,
” the FBI said in a statement.
A DOJ official told Fox News that Rosenstein “never threatened anyone in
the room with a criminal investigation.” The official said the department
and bureau officials in the room “are all quite clear that the
characterization of events laid out here is false,” adding that Rosenstein
was responding to a threat of contempt.
But the emails, reviewed by Fox News, provide additional details about that
encounter. A former Justice Department official said the account may help
explain how the relationship between the DOJ and the Republican-led House
committee has broken down in the months since.
“This is much worse than a deteriorating relationship – this is a massive
breakdown in the system. A deputy attorney general does not make subpoena
threats lightly. This is not the norm to say the least,” Tom Dupree, the
former principal deputy assistant attorney general under the George W. Bush
administration, told Fox News. “It’s hard to tell whether [Rosenstein] was
sending a message to back off, or whether he was just trying to illustrate
how invasive he considered the demands from Congress. But either way, it is
a clear signal that the relationship is fractured, and it’s not clear how
things will get repaired.”
The tense session over the boundaries of congressional oversight – and the
Justice Department's concern for protecting sources and methods – appears
to have set the tone for a sustained records dispute as well as the latest
confrontation over Chairman Devin Nunes’ request for information related to
an alleged FBI confidential human source who was in contact with the Trump
campaign.
A senior Justice Department official said Rosenstein and others have offered
to meet Thursday with a group of House leaders known as the Gang of Eight.
In a letter, Nunes, R-Calif. – whose staffers documented the Jan. 10
meeting – made clear he wants the records made available to all
intelligence committee members and select staff two days earlier.
The Jan. 10 meeting came amid government surveillance abuse allegations,
outstanding House subpoenas for Russia probe records and the looming threat
of contempt. The Capitol Hill session pertained to a request for a sensitive
document, according to the emails – and included Rosenstein, Associate
Deputy Attorney General Scott Schools, Assistant Attorney General for
Legislative Affairs Stephen Boyd, then-FBI Assistant Director Greg Brower
and FBI Director Christopher Wray, as well as Nunes and three committee
staffers.
The emails reviewed by Fox News show at least two committee staffers
memorialized their concerns about the deputy attorney general’s alleged
statements, at the request of the Office of General Counsel.
“I know I’ve relayed the following to you over the phone, and per your
suggestion reducing it to writing so there is at least some record of the
event,” wrote Patel, who is now the committee's national security adviser.
The two staffers were pressed on whether Rosenstein could justify the
comments as "merely referring to how DOJ would vigorously defend any
litigation that the committee might initiate?” -- an apparent reference to
Nunes' threat to hold Rosenstein and Wray in contempt for not providing
records.
“I took ... it as the DAG’s clearly articulated course of action should
the committee continue its investigation in the current manner, which he
found unacceptable and improper. It was not in response to how they would
defend litigation (ie contempt or the like),” Patel responded. "It was
about leaks, source contact, and other alleged disclosures by the committee."
Asked about the January meeting, Nunes provided a statement to Fox News
noting they referred the incident to House Speaker Paul Ryan’s office: “
The Intelligence Committee considers staff concerns at the most serious
level, especially those involving interactions with the executive branch.
Based on the justified concerns expressed by our lead staff investigators,
we referred this matter to the Speaker’s Office.”
Fox News provided extensive quotes from the emails and offered an
opportunity to respond to all parties. The House Office of General Counsel
declined to comment. A source close to the speaker said they “encouraged
the Committee to work through the non-partisan DOJ Inspector General’s
Office.”
A committee source said “going to DOJ IG is one of several steps under
consideration.”
The DOJ official later said in an email that "no formal complaint was ever
filed [with] the GC or IG." The official also said that Rosenstein and Nunes
"went to dinner with a mutual friend the night of this meeting and the
chairman didn't raise any concerns about the conversation at that dinner."
Dupree, though, said the tensions between Congress and the Justice
Department go well beyond the traditional oversight negotiations.
"Rarely, if ever, has it deterioriated to this point where you have what
appears to be threats going back and forth between the two sides," he said. | c*******e
发帖数: 5818 | 2 rose 有种，应该 把议员都 抓起来，
senior
for
【在 j*********r 的大作中提到】
: Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein threatened to “subpoena” emails,
: phone records and other documents from lawmakers and staff on a Republican-
: led House committee during a tense meeting earlier this year, according to
: emails reviewed by Fox News documenting the encounter and reflecting what
: aides described as a "personal attack."
: The emails memorialized a January 2018 closed-door meeting involving senior
: FBI and Justice Department officials as well as members of the House
: Intelligence Committee. The account claimed Rosenstein threatened to turn
: the tables on the committee's inquiries regarding the Russia probe.
: “The DAG [Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein] criticized the Committee for
| k**i
发帖数: 10191 | 3 这个SPY就是带着泼脏水的任务去的，所以这些人慌神了。 | h******k
发帖数: 15372 | | V**3
发帖数: 12756 | 5 东厂副档头威胁要抓御史中丞的小妾
lol
senior
for
【在 j*********r 的大作中提到】
: Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein threatened to “subpoena” emails,
: phone records and other documents from lawmakers and staff on a Republican-
: led House committee during a tense meeting earlier this year, according to
: emails reviewed by Fox News documenting the encounter and reflecting what
: aides described as a "personal attack."
: The emails memorialized a January 2018 closed-door meeting involving senior
: FBI and Justice Department officials as well as members of the House
: Intelligence Committee. The account claimed Rosenstein threatened to turn
: the tables on the committee's inquiries regarding the Russia probe.
: “The DAG [Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein] criticized the Committee for
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