Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said on Tuesday that the investigations he oversees at the Department of Justice (DOJ) are concluding “as expeditiously” as possible.
Rosenstein made the remarks at the Newseum in Washington, DC, at an event to mark the 60th anniversary of Law Day.
Rosenstein was asked about investigations that go on for months or even years; if there is a precedent on how long an investigation should last and when would the American people get to know the results of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election that has been underway since May of 2017.
Breitbart News asked Rosenstein, “Could you comment on the length of time that investigations take? I’m speaking of the Mueller investigation — is there a precedent or is there something that puts a time limit on this — when the Americans will get to know what he’s discovered?”
“I’m not going to talk about the Mueller investigation,” Rosenstein said. “In general, you know, our goal is always to conclude every investigation as expeditiously as we can.”
“Certainly every investigation that I oversee — I’m not talking about any one in particular because I oversee a lot of investigations — we recognize the need to move them as expeditiously as possible,” Rosenstein said.
Rosenstein is, in fact, the man who is overseeing the Mueller investigation after his boss, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, recused himself from any investigation into Russian meddling because of his role in President Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.
As Breitbart News reported, the Washington Post and the Hill obtained a copy of the eight articles of impeachment drawn up by the conservative House Freedom Caucus against Rosenstein because he has not provided the documentation requested as part an investigation into FBI surveillance during the 2016 presidential election.
Rosenstein was also asked about the impeachment articles at his Newseum appearance.
“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.
“But I can tell you the different people who’ve been making threats publicly and privately against me for quite some time and I think they should understand by now the Department of Justice is not going to be extorted,” Rosenstein said.
“We’re going to do what’s required by the rule of law, and any kind of threats that anybody makes are not going to affect the way we do our job,” Rosenstein said.
In the reporting on the impeachment articles in the Washington Post, Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC), chairman of the Freedom Caucus, spoke about them:
Meadows acknowledged the draft in an interview Monday, calling the one-page document “a last resort option if the Department of Justice fails to respond” to his requests for more information.
“My frustrations about their inability to respond to simple requests could warrant further action,” Meadows said, adding that many of his colleagues are nearing a breaking point with Rosenstein.
Meadows also responded to Rosenstein’s remarks at the Newseum on Twitter, CNN reported.
“If he believes being asked to do his job is ‘extortion,’ then Rod Rosenstein should step aside and allow us to find a new Deputy Attorney General—preferably one who is interested in transparency,” Meadows tweeted.
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