Posted on 08/02/2018 7:24:50 AM PDT by yesthatjallen
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein is “clearly obstructing justice” and should be fired if he does not produce documents sought by Congress, President Trump’s former chief strategist Stephen Bannon has told The Hill.
Trump should order Rosenstein to turn over all documents sought from the Department of Justice within 72 hours, Bannon said.
“If he doesn’t do it in 72 hours, he’s fired. I’d fire him.”
Bannon spoke to The Hill on Wednesday, amid a renewed press from Trump and his allies to strike back against the legal challenges confronting the president.
Conservatives in the House threatened to impeach Rosenstein last week before pulling back on the effort after Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) announced his opposition. It was clear the group did not have the votes to win an impeachment vote on the floor, but it is possible they will return to the issue in September — or push to hold Rosenstein in contempt in documents are not provided to Congress.
On Wednesday, the president caused uproar with a tweet calling on Attorney General Jeff Sessions to “stop this rigged Witch Hunt right now” — a reference to the probe led by special counsel Robert Mueller.
Critics said the tweet itself could be considered part of an effort by the president to obstruct justice.
Bannon, a controversial figure who left the White House a year ago and was derided by Trump after the publication of Michael Wolff’s exposé “Fire and Fury,” insisted that there would eventually be a commission set up to look at anti-Trump malfeasance by intelligence agencies during the initial investigations into ties between Russia and the 2016 Trump campaign.
The president’s allies have long alleged that the investigation has been marked by bias, pointing to examples such as text messages between FBI agents Peter Strzok and Lisa Page.
But the Mueller investigation has already resulted in more than 30 people being indicted. Five of those people have pleaded guilty. The first trial to result from the probe – that of former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort — has just begun.
Bannon, who sees himself as one of Trump’s true believers despite the turbulence between the two men, does not appear to share the view that Mueller should be removed, however.
In contrast to the president’s rhetoric, Bannon called Mueller “a good man, a combat-veteran Marine.”
Bannon said the probe should be “brought to a conclusion” and that there was “obviously no collusion” — but suggested that Mueller should issue a report before the midterm elections, which could then be released to the public.
“Let the American people, on Nov. 6, let them decide,” Bannon insisted, referring to the midterm elections. “They are going to say that is too thin a reed to hang anything serious on.”
Asked about Trump’s explosive tweet about Sessions, Bannon said: “I think the president’s just expressing his frustration.”
Recent weeks have seen escalating attacks from Trump’s legal and political allies — including his lawyer and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani — on Mueller.
The ferocity of those attacks — and some shifting storylines, such as Giuliani’s new insistence in television interviews that collusion is not a crime — have fueled speculation that Trump could be feeling under pressure.
Bannon would not be drawn on whether collision is a crime, and offered a wry assessment of Giuliani’s efforts.
“I love me some Rudy but I understand Rudy has good appearances and some maybe that are not of the [same] Rudy quality,” he said.
In any event, he insisted, Team Trump’s pushback against Mueller “is definitely not an admission of guilt. I think it’s an admission of frustration.”
Bannon expressed similar insouciance about Michael Cohen, the president’s longtime fixer who is reportedly willing to tell Mueller that Trump knew in advance about a June 2016 meeting in Trump Tower.
A Russian lawyer attended that meeting along with Donald Trump Jr, Jared Kushner and Manafort.
Bannon said he had “known Michael for years” but not well.
“When I first took over the [Trump] campaign, I was pretty direct with him that there couldn’t be any involvement in the campaign, and he really shouldn’t be down on the 14th floor,” Bannon said, referring to the campaign’s offices within Trump Tower.
Bannon explained this decision by asserting that he didn’t want more “intermingling” than necessary between Trump’s presidential campaign and the Trump Organization.
Still, asked if he thought Trump might have been told about the Trump Tower meeting in advance, Bannon responded “No, not at all.”
Bannon for now insists the focus should stay on Rosenstein and the Department of Justice.
“There is a cover-up right now,” he contended.
More details from Bannon’s interview with The Hill will be published later today.
Thanks Steve. No one asked you
Order Rosenstein to turn over the documents. When he refuses to comply, fire him for insubordination and then move to immediately declassify the FISA warants (at least those portions that do not reveal sources or methods).
After the FISA docs are released the American people will see the truth of what went on and what was being covered up. After that, fire Sessions for dereliction of duty for allowing the credibility of his department to be destroyed by ongoing cover ups, refusal to comply with legitimate congressional demands, and rank partisanship.
It wouldn’t surprise me if that was the plan for quite some time now. They have nothing on Trump, so tweak him until he fires one (or both) and then we get the non-stop bleating about “obstruction”. Typical leftist avoidance of responsibility.
Mueller a good man? I don’t think so. Didn’t I read an article awhile ago about Carl Sagan’s son escaping justice for possession and obvious distribution of thousands of pedo videos? And who was the prosecutor who let him off with a plea deal?
Wasn’t Bannon the one who said Trump shouldn’t have fired Comey?
“...Conservatives in the House threatened to impeach Rosenstein...”
So tired of reading about what our conservative politicians are threatening to do - and never seem to DO.
Isn’t this the guy who said that firing Comey was Trump’s biggest mistake?
and then we get the non-stop bleating about “obstruction”
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That’s going to happen in any case. Mueller’s job has been, from the very beginning, to fabricate something against Trump so that the Left can have its “obstruction” charge to use against him. One way or another, the accusations of obstruction are going to come.
When somebody is going to hit you no matter what you say or do, you may as well fight back. Why just stand there and take the coming punishment?
I cannot understand Trump’s reluctance/refusal to use his powers against these people. The people are sick and tired of Mueller’s shenanigan and will back the president.
That was Isaac Asimov’s son, not Carl Sagan’s.
They would definitely cry about obstruction if Trump were to fire Rosenstein and Sessions. But I think that's their plan B.
Their plan A is to keep Sessions and Rosenstein (and Mueller) in place so that they can prevent any prosecutions of the Deep State.
“When somebody is going to hit you no matter what you say or do, you may as well fight back. Why just stand there and take the coming punishment?”
Exactly! After hearing Joe Degenova last night I said Trump should fire Sessions and appoint Degenova as AG. This sitting back, hiding and taking it needs to stop. Your not going to win anything if you don’t mount an offense. Playing defense all the time is a sure fire way to lose.
Appoint Degenova and unleash hell on them.
Their plan A is to keep Sessions and Rosenstein (and Mueller) in place so that they can prevent any prosecutions of the Deep State.
There won’t be any prosecutions of the Deep State because the GOPe won’t support it and cover POTUS’s flanks. Sessions and Rosenstein are just bit players here.
Exactly! After hearing Joe Degenova last night I said Trump should fire Sessions and appoint Degenova as AG. This sitting back, hiding and taking it needs to stop. Your not going to win anything if you don’t mount an offense. Playing defense all the time is a sure fire way to lose.
You’re not going to go on offense and win political battles without a supporting cast. And right now the GOP steadfastly refuses to support POTUS.
They would definitely cry about obstruction if Trump were to fire Rosenstein and Sessions.
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The Left is in a permanent state of hysteria. No matter what Trump does that is not going to change. They hate him with a visceral passion no matter what he does. So he may as well get on with doing what’s necessary.
I’m a Trump supporter, but at this point its not solely about him. The country needs to see, and know, the depth and extent of the subversion that was perpetrated against OUR DEMOCRACY by a traitorous cabal embedded within our own federal government. That to me is an overriding concern. Its why we must know.
He thinks Rosenstein is covering things up; he's right about that. But then he defends Mueller as a good person; that's very "sloppy".
It's a good start.
That very well may be true, but with Sessions, Rosenstein and Mueller in place, I believe it's a certainty.
just have trump declassify them...this is not hard
evidently Trump has been told by his lawyers to refrain from declassifying lest he be accused of obstructing....people that say he’s playing 4 d chess and is just waiting for the right moment are silly.
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