Rosenstein testified on capitol hill wednesday about special counsel Robert Muellers investigation of russias influence in the 2016 u. S. Elections. During the hearing, several members of the committee asked questions about alleged bias on the part of agents involved in this and a previous fbi investigation into Hillary Clintons handling of a private email server. From the house Judicial Committee, this is about four hours. Good morning. The Judicial Committee will come to order. Without objection the chairs authorized to declare recesses of the committee at any time. We welcome everyone to this mornings hearing on oversight hearing with Deputy Attorney general Rod Rosenstein. Ill begin by risiecognizing myf for an opening statement. Thank you, deputy general attorney general rosenstein for appearing for the first time. There is much to discuss today and we look forward to your testimony and answers to your questions. As chairman of the committee with primary oversight of the department ofhe justice and the fbi, i have always supported the department and the fbi in performing their valuable missions to keep our nation safe and to hold individuals accountable for criminal conduct. Yet i and many on this committee now find ourselves in the very difficult position of questioning the actions of both prior and Current Department and fbi leadership. You have a unique role at the department of justice in that you appointed special counsel mueller and have a supervisory role over his investigation. It is therefore very appropriate for you to appear before this committee tope answer questions related to the scope of the special counsels investigation as well as its current efficacy in light of various events calling into question its impartiality. Reports on the political predisposition and potential bias of certain career agents and Department Lawyers on special counsel muellers team are deeply troubling to all citizense who expect a system o blind and equal justice. The department of justice investigationsca must not be individuals imposing their own political prejudices. We are now beginning to better understand the magnitude of this insider bias on mr. Muellers team. First we have fbi agent peter strzok and fbi lawyer lisa page exchanging communications, showing extreme bias against president e trump. A fact that would be bad enough ifng they werent employed as pi of the Mueller Dream Team investigating the very person for whom they were showing disdain and calling it mere disdain is generous. According to the documents produced last night to this committee, mr. Strzok and ms. Page refer to the president as an utter idiot and awful while continuing praising Hillary Clinton and the obamas. These Text Messages prove what we all suspected. High ranking fbi officials involved in the clinton investigation were personally invested in the outcome of the election and clearly let their Strong Political opinions cloud their professional judgment. And this was only an initial disclosure containing heavy redar redactions. Andrew wiseman expressed his awe of a doj official for shunning the president and failing to execute the law. However, we are the ones now in awe that someone like mr. Weissman remains on an Investigative Team that looks more and more part son. Third, we have learned that a top t mueller prosecutor, jeann, in addition to the other actions that would normally justify recusal served as an attorney for the Clinton Foundation. Arent department of justice attorneyss advised to avoid eve the appearance of impropriety . A former clinton employee is now investigating President Trump. Thison seems to be the very definition of appearance of impropriety. Fourth, we have just recently learned that another Top Department of justice official, bruce orr, has been reassigned because of his wife and his connections with the infamous dossier and the company from whom the Opposition Research documentnt originated. We hopef to hear your assessmen of the foregoing conflicts, whether individuals are being held accountable and whether you still have confidence in the judgment of the special counsel you named and supervise. Regarding the clinton email scandal, you along with attorney general sessions have to date declined to appoint a Second Special counsel to investigate the improprieties that continue to surface related to the handling of theha clinton emai investigation and other events surrounding the 2016 election. These are some of the important issues on which we will focus our energy and questions today. We want toip understand your participation and the departments involvement in addressing both investigations. Deputy attorney general, the department of justices reputation as an impartial arbitor of justice has been called into question. This taint of plitization, while we h continue to call on you to appoint a Second Special counsel, as you are aware we have opened our own joint investigation to review fbi and the department of justices handlingat of the clinton emai investigation. I want to thank you and attorney general sessions for recently committing to provide us relevant documents to enable robust congressional oversight of this matter. Ii implore you to continue to work with usg on these and othe important matters facing our nation. One of these matters involves a Critical Program for our National Security. Fisa section 702. This committee passed on an overwhelming bipartisan basis the usa liberty act which maintains them integrity of the protecting e cherished Civil Liberties. This overwhelming vote occurred despite the departments lobbying efforts against our bill. The usa liberty act was characterized as bad for the program, highly problematic, unworkable and a proposal that would effectively dismantle section 702. However, the reality is that thisvi committees legislation struck a balance that promotes National Security and Civil Liberties. I hope to hear from you why the department of justice felt it necessary to oppose a bill that would reauthorize 702 and instill confidence in the American People that their privacy and Civil Liberties are respected by a government whose duty it is to protect them. The department of justice must reacqui reacquire the trust of the American People. I know there are thousands of departments of justice employees and line agents in the department in the bureau of federal bureau of investigation that are dedicated individuals, that are dedicated to upholding the rule of law and protecting the American People and i hope that we can come to a conclusion about those people who have not met that standard in this hearing today. Thank you, mr. Deputy attorney general for appearing today. I now yield to the gentleman from new york, the rafrpginking member of the committee, mr. D nadler. Beforeeof i begin let me ende the comments of the chairman with respect to 702 and the legislation we reported out of this committee. Second, i want tohe acknowledge letter the chairman and i received last night from the of this c women committee. Our colleagues have written to ask that bwe convene a hearing regarding thein allegations of and misconductnt leveled against President Trumpn i ask that letter be made a part of the record. It will be a made a part of the record. I endorse this letter. We should convene this hearing as soon as possible. This is an opportunity for us to lead and to show the country thatny this kind of behavior an unacceptable at any level of government. Mr. Chairman, let me start by saying welcome to the house Judicial Committee, mr. Rosenstein. For the better part of a year my colleagues and i have employed this committee conduct real oversight of the department of justice. On january 24t4th, 2017, we wro to chairman goodlatte insisting that the committee hold hearinge on President Trumps conflicts of interest. We showed adthat, quote the ul administrations attempts to address its ongoing conflicts of interests are so far wholly inadequate. Six weeks later attorney general sessions recused himself from the russia investigation but o have not held a single hearing on the conflicts of interest. On march 8th we wrote again encouraging him to call hearings quote, russias alleged interference in the u. S. Election. Again no such hearings were ever held. In fact, this committee which during the Obama Administration held half a dozen hearings around operation fast and furious, received testimony from fbi director comey three times in 13 months, and detailed staff and resources to a ben gbenghaz investigation that cost the public. We havent lifted a finger on election security. Attorney general sessions told us on november 14th he has done nothing to secureho the next election from threats from at home and abroad. We have not once discussed the president s abusehe of the pard power. President trump sidelined the office of the pardon attorney to pardon a serial human rights abuser who bragged about running a concentration camp in arizona. And we have not held a single hearing onn allegations of obstruction of justice at the white house. Not for lack of evidence but because in theng chairmans wor there ais special counsel in ple examining the issue, end quote, and quote, several other congressionall committees are looking into the matter and the committee, quote, does not have the time to conduct this critical oversight. I ask my colleagues to keep those excuses in mind. Rs now with the year coming to a close with the leadership of the department of justice finally before us, what do my republican colleagues want to discuss . Hillary clintons emails. Let me repeat that. With all of these unresolved issues left on our docket a week before we adjourn for the calendar year the majoritys highest oversight priority is Hillary Clintons emails and the few related Text Messages. As we saw in our recent hearings with the department of justice and the fbi my republican colleagues seem focussed on their call for a Second Special counsel. In failing that on the need to investigate the investigators themselves. Ourselves. The white house has now joined the call foror a new special counsel to investigate the fbi. The president s private lawyers have done the same. I understand the instinct to want to change the subject after the flynn and manafort indictments but this is grossly misguided. First it shows a fundamental misunderstanding of how the special counsel regulations work. Some criminal investigations pose a conflict of interest to the department of justice. The russia investigation is such a case because of the attorney generals ongoing recusal and because the Department Leadership assisted in the removal of director comey among other reasons. In cases like these, the attorney general may use a special counsel to manage the investigation outside of the ordinary chain of command. But the key here is the criminal investigation. Thats what special counsel does. The department cannot simply assign a special t counsel to lk at things that bother the white house. There has to be enough evidence to have predicated a criminal investigation in the first place. Then and only then if the facts warrant can a special counsel be assigned to the case. So far theres been no credible factual legal claim that anybody in the department of justice violated any law by deciding not to bring charges against Hillary Clinton or by attempting to meet with fusion gps. In other words, there is no investigation to whichne the department could even assign a new special counsel. Second, the list of grievances raised byo the majority for review by a new special counsel also seems wildly off the mark. For example,ft theres nothing unlawful about director comeys sitting down to draft an early statement about the clinton investigation nor would it have been unethical to outline its conclusions before the investigation was over if the evidence pointed in one direction. Nor is there anything wrong with fbi agents saying their political views in private Text Messages. In fact, Department Regulations expressly permit that sort of private communication. Ive reviewed those Text Messages and im left with two thoughts. First being instructed to not say anything about donald trump that the majority of americans werent also thinking at the sameti time. Second, in a testament to his integrity andnd Situational Awareness when the office of the Inspector General made mr. Muellerr aware of these exchanges, he immediately removed mr. Strzok from his team. E to the extent we are involved in political bias at the fbi, this committee should examine evidence of a coordinatored effort by some investigators involved in the clinton investigation by leaking Sensitive Information to the public and by threatening to leak Additional Information after the investigation was closed. Ranking member cummings and t i sent a letter the department asking for additional materials related to these leaks as well as to the claims that these efforts may have been coordinated with former mayor rudy giuliani, Michael Flynnof and other senio figures in the Trump Campaign. Third, the president s call for anld investigation of the investigation is at best wildly dangerous to your Democratic Institutions. The one hand, the president s old locker up cheer seems quaint after a couple guilty plea by trump societies. As former attorney general, the president s continued threats to prosecute his political opponents is something we dont do. If the president were to carry out his threat, again from attorney general mu casey, it would be a banana republic. This investigation into the investigation cannot be a priority for this committee at this time. I understand the instinct to want to give cover to the president. I am fearful that the majoritys efforte to turn the tables on te special counsel will get louder and more frantic as the walls continue to close in around the president. But this committee has a job to do. President trump has engaged in a persistent and dangerous effort to discredit both the free press and the department of justice. These are the agencies and institutions under our jurisdiction. Every minute that our majority wastes on covering for President Trump is a minute lost on finding a solution for the dreamers or curving a vicious spike in hate crimes or preventing dangerous individuals from purchasing firearms or stopping the president from further damaging the constitutional order. Ei i hope my colleagues would use todays hearing as an opportunity to find their way back to the true work of the house Judicial Committee. I thank the chairman and i yield back the balance of my time. We welcome our distinguished witness. If you would please rise ill begin by swearing you in. Do you solemnly swear that the testimony that you are about to give shall behe the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help you god . Thank you. Let the record show the witness answered in the affirmative. Mr. Rod rosenstein was sworn in as the 37th Deputy Attorney general of the United States on april 26th, 2017, by attorney general Jeff Sessions. Mr. Rosenstein has had a distinguished career in public service. He began hise legal career in e Public Integrity section of the department of justices Criminal Division and later served as counsel to the Deputy Attorney general and Principle Deputy assistant attorney general for the tax division. Until his appointment by President Trump, mr. Rosenstein served for 12 years as the United States attorney for the district of maryland. He holds a bachelors degree in economics from the Wharton School and a j. D. From harvard law school. General rosenstein, your written statement will be entered into the record in its entirety. We ask that you summarize your testimony in five minutes. Welcome. We are pleased to have you here. Chairman goodlatte, ranking number nadler, members of the committee, i want to thank you for this opportunity to testify of your oversight of the United States department of justice. I appreciate your support and concern for the department of justice. I know several of you are alumne of the department. Two, in fact, served alongside me as United States attorneys and im veryne grateful for the opportunity to be with you today. As