Cummings Proposes Emergency Hearings if Trump Ousts Rosenstein
Washington, D.C. (Sept. 24, 2018)—Today, Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, the Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, called on Chairman Trey Gowdy to hold an emergency hearing if Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein is forced out of his position: “We have received conflicting reports this morning that President Trump was about to fire Mr. Rosenstiein, that Mr. Rosenstein resigned in anticipation of being fired, or that the White House falsely claimed that Mr. Rosenstein resigned when he had not. “If President Trump forces out Mr. Rosenstein—regardless of how it happens—the American people deserve a full and complete accounting of these actions, and the Oversight Committee should hold an immediate emergency hearing with Mr. Rosenstein, obtain all the emails and other correspondence from the White House and Justice Department, and start conducting transcribed interviews and depositions about this decision. “Mr. Rosenstein’s removal would plunge our nation into uncharted territory and pose a serious and profound threat to the continued work of the Special Counsel, and I would expect the American people to be outraged if President Trump’s extended campaign to interfere with this investigation results in Mr. Rosenstein’s ouster.” Mr. Rosenstein serves as a firewall, protecting Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation from President Trump’s ongoing attempts to influence and end it. The investigation has already yielded eight guilty pleas—including from President Trump’s National Security Advisor, Campaign Chairman, Deputy Campaign Chairman, and campaign Foreign Policy Advisor—and the indictments of 26 Russian nationals and three Russian companies. President Trump has been personally attacking Mr. Rosenstein and the entire Special Counsel investigation for the past year:
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