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Gowdy says he won’t support Rosenstein impeachment

The chairman of the powerful House Oversight and Government Reform Committee said Sunday he doesn’t support a push by conservative lawmakers to impeach Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.

“No. For what? Impeach him for what? No,” Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) said on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”

“I’ve had my differences with Rod Rosenstein. I talk to him quite often privately, which again is a lot more constructive than the public hearings we have,” Gowdy said. “He’s a Trump appointee. So is [Attorney General] Jeff Sessions. So is [FBI Director] Chris Wray. If President Trump is dissatisfied with Rod Rosenstein, he can fire him with a tweet.”

The deputy attorney general, who oversees special counsel Robert Mueller’s sprawling Russia probe and is a frequent target of President Donald Trump’s ire, has been accused by House Republicans of dragging his feet in responding to requests for documents related to Mueller’s work.

POLITICO reported last week that House Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), Freedom Caucus founder Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and other conservatives are launching a new effort to oust Rosenstein and are putting the finishing touches on an impeachment filing.

Gowdy said he’s unsure there’s enough support for that in the House.

“I’m not convinced there is a movement,” Gowdy said. “I read about it in POLITICO and sometimes their sources are better than mine. But I’m not part of that.”