Donald Trump may be facing impeachment hearings if he goes through on plans to fire Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, which many see as an attempt to throttle the Russia investigation and eventually fire special counsel Robert Mueller.
This week, reports indicated that Trump was laying the groundwork to fire Rosenstein. The Hill reported that Trump’s White House is building the case to fire Rosenstein by telling allies to attack him in television appearances, with the hope that the American public will support the firing once Trump goes through with it. But there is a strong pushback, including Democratic Congressman Boyle who said he will introduce articles of impeachment against Trump if Rosenstein is fired.
Because Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from all matters related to the Russia investigation when it was reported that he lied about meetings with Russian officials during the campaign, Rosenstein oversees all aspects of Mueller’s investigation. Rosenstein has reportedly been very supportive, allowing the investigation the resources and leeway it needs to investigate a number of different areas.
The White House is now searching for potential reasons to fire Rosenstein, including the idea that he needs to recuse himself given his role in firing FBI Director James Comey, CNN reported. But the report noted that Rosenstein has consulted with an ethics adviser at the Department of Justice regarding when and if he needs to recuse himself from any area of the investigation.
If @realDonaldTrump fires the Deputy AG, I will immediately introduce an article of impeachment. This is a clear attempt to obstruct justice. https://t.co/IJ5c9eDNbN
— Rep. Brendan Boyle (@CongBoyle) April 13, 2018
According to a report from the Wall Street Journal , Donald Trump has already decided that he will fire Rod Rosenstein as well as Attorney General Jeff Sessions, and it is now a matter of exactly when and how it will happen.
Donald Trump has faced other threats of impeachment throughout his presidency, and Republicans are now seizing on those threats in order to drum up support in the upcoming midterms. As the New York Times reported, Republicans are hoping to energize their base of conservative voters and head off what is expected to be a Democratic wave by warning voters that Democrats will impeach Trump if they gain control of the House and Senate.