WASHINGTON
— A group of House Republicans escalated their feud with the deputy
attorney general, Rod J. Rosenstein, on Wednesday, introducing articles
of impeachment in a long-shot bid to oust the official overseeing the
special counsel inquiry into Russian election interference.
The
move was seen as much as a political maneuver as an act of
congressional oversight. The group of 11, led by Representatives Mark
Meadows of North Carolina and Jim Jordan of Ohio, would need the support
of a majority of the House and two-thirds of the Senate to convict Mr.
Rosenstein. The resolution they filed does not require the entire House
to vote before Congress adjourns for its summer recess on Friday.
But
it could provide President Trump with more ammunition to attack Mr.
Rosenstein, who has been in Mr. Trump’s cross hairs since he appointed
the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, to investigate Russia’s plot
to manipulate the 2016 presidential election and whether any Trump
associates were complicit.
Republican
lawmakers have been sparring with Mr. Rosenstein for months. They
accuse the Justice Department of being less than forthcoming with
documents related to several of its most sensitive investigations,
including the Russia inquiry.
