Yesterday's House Judiciary Committee hearing climaxed with an intense exchange between House Representative Jim Jordan and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. You'll find the full seven minute video of the exchange, with the full transcript below, for your reference. I've also taken the liberty of providing you with references to the full House of Representative Judiciary Committee roster and website. I hope you find this helpful and informative. Feel free to comment if you have any feedback, thoughts, questions, concerns, suggestions, corrections, etc.
The full House of Representative Judiciary Committee roster is provided below. For more information click HERE.
Committee Roster
Majority (Republicans)
- Chairman Bob Goodlatte (VA-06)
- Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, Jr. (WI-05)
- Rep. Lamar Smith (TX-21)
- Rep. Steve Chabot (OH-01)
- Rep. Darrell Issa (CA-49)
- Rep. Steve King (IA-04)
- Rep. Louie Gohmert (TX-01)
- Rep. Jim Jordan (OH-04)
- Rep. Ted Poe (TX-02)
- Rep. Tom Marino (PA-10)
- Rep. Trey Gowdy (SC-04)
- Rep. Raúl Labrador (ID-01)
- Rep. Doug Collins (GA-09)
- Rep. Ron DeSantis (FL-06)
- Rep. Ken Buck (CO-04)
- Rep. John Ratcliffe (TX-04)
- Rep. Martha Roby (AL-02)
- Rep. Matt Gaetz (FL-01)
- Rep. Mike Johnson (LA-04)
- Rep. Andy Biggs (AZ-05)
- Rep. John Rutherford (FL-04)
- Rep. Karen Handel (GA-06)
- Rep. Keith Rothfus (PA-12)
Minority (Democrats)
- Ranking Member Jerry Nadler (NY-10)
- Rep. Zoe Lofgren (CA-19)
- Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (TX-18)
- Rep. Steve Cohen (TN-09)
- Rep. Hank Johnson, Jr. (GA-04)
- Rep. Ted Deutch (FL-22)
- Rep. Luis Gutierrez (IL-04)
- Rep. Karen Bass (CA-37)
- Rep. Cedric Richmond (LA-02)
- Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (NY-08)
- Rep. David Cicilline (RI-01)
- Rep. Eric Swalwell (CA-15)
- Rep. Ted Lieu (CA-33)
- Rep. Jamie Raskin (MD-08)
- Rep. Pramila Jayapal (WA-07)
- Rep. Brad Schneider (IL-10)
- Rep. Val Demings (FL-10)
BG = Chairman Bob Goodlatte
JJ = Rep. Jim Jordan
ES = Rep. Eric Swalwell
SL = Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee
RR = Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein
BG: "Chair recognizes the gentleman from Ohio, Mr. Jordan."
JJ: "Thank you, Mr. Chairmain. Mr. Rosenstein, why are you keeping information from Congress?"
RR: "I'm not keeping any information from Congress that is appropriate..."
JJ: "In a few minutes, Mr. Rosenstein, I think the House of Representative is going to say something different."
RR: "I don't agree with you, Congressman, I don't believe that's what they're going to say. And if they do I think we might..."
JJ: "I think, in a few minutes The House of Representatives is gonna go on record saying you haven't complied with requests from a separate and equal branch of government. That you haven't complied with subpoenas and you got seven days to get your act together. I think that's what's going to happen in a few and that's just that's not Jim Jordan. I think that's the majority of The House of Representatives in just a few minutes. I think that's going to happen and I want to know why you won't give us what we've asked for."
RR: "Sir. I certainly hope that your colleagues are not under that impression. Uh, that is not accurate sir."
JJ: "It is accurate. We have caught you hiding information."
ES: "Mr. Chairman point of order. We can go to Mr. Jordan's press conference and listen to him, but we came here to hear from the witnesses."
BG: "The time belongs to the gentleman."
JJ: "Mr. Rosenstein"
ES: "Can we allow him to answer?"
JJ: "We have caught you hiding information."[crosstalk]
ES: "Why are they not allowed to answer?"
BG: "The gentlemen is out of order. The gentlemen of Ohio is recognized."[crosstalk]
JJ: "Let me make this one and then I'd like your answer. Let me make this one point where we've caught you hiding information, then you can answer. Why did you hide the fact that Peter Struck and Judge Contreras were friends? Why did you redact that in the documents you gave to us? Peters, I mean Judge Contreras, kind of important FISA Court Judge, more importantly, just as importantly, the judgment that heard Mike Flynn's case.Why did you try to hide that from us?"
RR: "Mr. Jordan, I appreciate you give me the opportunity to respond. I've heard you make those sort of allegations publicly on TV."
JJ: "It's, I got them right here..."[crosstalk]
SL: "Mr. Chairman he should be given the opportunity."
RR: "Mr. Jordan..."
[Jordan holds up a document that appears about 1/3 redacted, looks at it, then looks back at Rosenstein]
JJ: "It's redacted!"
RR: "I am the Deputy Attorney General United States. Okay? I'm not the person doing the redacting. I'm responsible
for responding to your concerns as I have. I have a team with me, sir. It's just a fraction of the team that's doing this work. And whenever you brought issues to my attention, I have taken appropriate steps to remedy them. So your statement that I'm personally keeping information from you trying to conceal information..."
JJ: "You're the boss. Mr. Rosenstein."
RR: "That's correct. And my job is to make sure that we respond to your concerns. We have sir! Now I've appointed Mr.
Laos, who is managing that production and my understanding is it's actually going very well, sir. So I appreciate your
concerns..."
RR: "Yeah, and I think the House of Representatives gonna say otherwise. But your use of this to attack me personally is deeply wrong.[crosstalk]
SL: May the witness be permitted to answer the question?!
JJ: It's not personal.
BG: "The witness is gonna have an opportunity to say whatever he wants at the end of Mr.Jordan's five minutes. Until then it is not his time."
JJ: "I appreciate your service. It's not personal. We just want the information. Why did you tell Peter struck not to answer our questions yesterday? When I asked, when I asked Peter struck if he'd ever communicated with Glenn Simpson he gave us the answer. He gave us dozens of times, on advice of FBI counsel, "I can't answer that question." Why couldn't he answer that question?"
RR: "I appreciate your sincere concerns, but I didn't get Peter to struck any instructions. If there was some problem with the instructions he had I'll be happy to look into it."
JJ: "Not what his FBI lawyer said."
RR: "Mr. Jordan, when you find some problem with a production or with questions, it doesn't mean that I'm personally trying to conceal something from you. It means we're running an organization that's trying to follow the rules and we're gonna respond with.
JJ: "You know, what was interesting when I asked him if he'd ever talked to Bruce Orr he said he had. Said he had three times in 2016 and 2017. Then I asked him, have you ever talked to Nelly Orr and he said no, I haven't. I said well why can you answer that question because Nelly Orr worked for Glenn Simpson, worked for Fusion. He could answer that question but he couldn't answer, because FBI counsel told him he couldn't, he couldn't answer the question whether it ever communicated with Glenn Simpson, a journalist. Why couldn't he answer that question?"
RR: I appreciate your saying isn't personal. Sometimes it feels that way. How do I know, sir? I mean, you interviewed
Mr. Struck. I didn't so I can't."
JJ: "He works for you. Doesn't work for us."
RR: "There are a hundred and fifteen thousand people who work for me, sir."
JJ: "Mr. Rosentein. Did you threaten staffers on the House Intelligence Committee? Media reports indicate you did."
RR: "Media reports are mistaken"
JJ: "Sometimes, but this is what they said, "Having the nation's number-one law enforcement officer threatened to subpoena your calls and emails is downright chilling. Did you threaten to subpoena their calls and emails?"
RR: "No, sir, and there's no way to subpoena phone calls."[laughter]
JJ: "Well, I'm just saying, I'm reading what the press said. I mean"
RR: "I would suggest that you not rely on what the Press says sir."
JJ: "Well, I didn't asked if there's no way to do it. I asked if you said it!"
RR: "If I said what?"
JJ: "What I just read you."
RR: "No, I did not."
JJ: "Well now, who are we supposed to believe? Staff members who we've worked with? Who've never mislead us, or you guys who we've caught hiding information from us. Who tell a witness not to answer our questions. Who are we supposed to believe?"
RR: "Thank you for making it clear it's not personal, Mr. Jordan."
JJ: "I didn't, I'm saying the Department of Justice..."
RR: "I'm telling the truth and I'm under oath. If you want to put somebody else under oath and they have it something different..."
JJ: "I know these staff members."[crosstalk]
JJ: Here's, here's my last question. What's so important that you know that you don't want us to know? That you won't give us the documents we're asking for. That The House of Representatives is about ready to go on record saying you should give us. What's so darn important that you will threaten members, at least according to media reports and according to staff members, threaten members..."
[crosstalk]JJ: "What is so important, Mr. Rosenstein?"
SL: "Parliamentary inquiry, Mr Chairman."
BG: "This is not an appropriate time for a parliamentary inquiry."
SL: "Then point of order. The gentleman keeps representing that the House of Representatives, yes, it will be the Republicans who continue..."
BG: "That is not an appropriate point of order."
SL: "Well, he needs to be corrected."
Bob Goodlatte: "The time of the gentleman"
SL: "The members of the Republican majority...suspend..."[crosstalk]
BG: "The time of the gentleman from Ohio will be restored for an additional 15 seconds. And then the Deputy Attorney General be allowed to respond."
JJ: "Thank You, Mr. Chairmain. Mr. Rosenstein... Mr. Wray, I do appreciate work, but I'd also appreciate if the House of
Representatives could get the information we have repeatedly.. Mr. Gowdy talked about how long this investigation is
going on. How long there's been a special counsel. We started asking for information in July of last year and some of that is still not given and still has not been given to the Congress. Still now has been given to this committee. To the Committee charged with defending the Judiciary Committee. So, I appreciate what you do. I just want the information and we're so frustrated that there is now a resolution on the floor of the house in just a few minutes that will be voted on."
BG: "Time for the gentleman has expired. Mr. Rosenstein will be allowed to respond."
RR: "I don't have any control over what resolutions you vote on sir and..."
JJ: "I know you don't."
BG: "The gentleman will suspend. The time now is the attorney-general's."
JJ: "If you're interested in the truth, Mr. Jordan, the truth is we have a team of folks that are Trump appointees and career folks and they're doing their best to produce these documents. Director, I explained to you the process. He's got hundreds of people working around the clock trying to satisfy these requests so whether you vote or not is not going to affect it. You're going to get everything that's relevant that we can find and produce it to you. I support this report, sir. I'm not trying to hide anything from you."[holds up report in hand]