House panel votes to direct DOJ to hand over more documents in Russia inquiry, Clinton case

WASHINGTON – The House Judiciary Committee voted Tuesday to approve a resolution directing Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to hand over more documents about the investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and possible collusion between Donald Trump's campaign and the Kremlin.

Committee members voted 15-11 along party lines to pass the resolution, which directs Rosenstein to respond to the document request within 14 days. It is up to leaders of the Republican majority to decide whether to bring the resolution to a vote of the full House. 

There is no penalty included in the resolution if the Department of Justice fails to comply. Rosenstein has handed over scores of documents to House committees, but he has balked at releasing others in the midst of the Russia investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller.

The committee's action was the latest move in an escalating battle that has pitted conservative House Republicans against the Department of Justice and the FBI. The two sides will confront each other Thursday, when Rosenstein and FBI Director Christopher Wray will testify at a committee hearing.

"We are sick and tired of the Department of Justice giving us the runaround," said Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus.

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Jordan and other conservatives alleged bias against Trump and in favor of Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton in 2016. They said their case was underscored by the release of a report by DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz, who uncovered anti-Trump messages by FBI officials involved in the Russia investigation and the investigation of Clinton's use of a private email server while she was secretary of state.

Horowitz said he found no evidence that political bias affected the resolution of the case against Clinton, who was not prosecuted.

Democrats said Republicans are trying to undermine Mueller's criminal investigation to help President Trump. They charged that Republicans seek to discredit Rosenstein to give Trump an excuse to fire him and derail the Mueller inquiry.

Rosenstein oversees the special counsel's investigation. Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself because he served as an adviser to Trump's campaign.

"What is really happening here is a bad faith effort ... to interfere with the ongoing Russia investigation," said Rep. Jerrold Nadler of New York, the committee's senior Democrat. "It is quite wrong. We should let the investigation proceed. ... The Justice Department has been as forthcoming as they can possibly be without interfering with the investigation."

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, pressed Republicans on what they plan to do to Rosenstein if the House passes the resolution and he doesn't turn over all the documents.

"The intent is to call to attention to the Department of Justice that they are not in compliance with what is requested of them," said Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., who voted for the resolution even though he said he wasn't sure it was necessary.

Jordan said Republicans "want the weight of the full House behind this." If the Justice Department balks at the demands, "we will cross that bridge when we come to it," Jordan said, adding that "every option is on the table."

Those options include issuing more subpoenas, holding Rosenstein in contempt of Congress or trying to impeach him – a rarely used penalty that would be difficult to impose because it would be nearly impossible to pass in the closely divided Senate.

The resolution approved Tuesday by the committee includes requests for documents related to briefings provided by the Justice Department and FBI to the Trump and Clinton campaigns in 2016.

It seeks any internal requests by DOJ or FBI management "to review, scrub, report on, or analyze any reporting of FISA collection involving, or coverage mentioning, the Trump campaign or Trump administration." FISA refers to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which was used to monitor contacts between Trump campaign aides and Russian officials.

Under an amendment from Jordan, the resolution seeks documents related to the Justice Department and FBI's inquiry into the Clinton Foundation, which was investigated in 2016 amid allegations that people who donated to the foundation got access to Clinton when she was secretary of state. No charges were filed in the case.