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Nunes Wins, DOJ Makes Immediate Move After Learning He's Willing To Start Impeaching Them

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The House Intelligence Committee, led by Chairman Devin Nunes, has been investigating suspected bias and politicization within the Department of Justice and FBI, particularly as it relates to the FBI-initiated investigation of Russian election interference and alleged collusion with the Trump presidential campaign.

However, Nunes and his committee have been largely stymied in this effort by a less-than-cooperative DOJ.

Townhall reported that the DOJ foot-dragging and lack of cooperation appears to have ceased, at least in one instance. On Wednesday, Nunes finally gained access to a specific document he had been seeking — though that access was only granted after Nunes effectively threatened the jobs of two top DOJ and FBI officials.

The document in question — which had already been subpoenaed by Nunes — was an unredacted version of the two-page brief, which, in July 2016, served as the justification for opening an FBI investigation into alleged Russian collusion.

According to The Hill, Nunes threatened on Tuesday to not only hold in contempt but also to impeach Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and FBI Director Christopher Wray if he didn’t receive the document he sought.

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“I can tell you that we’re not going to just hold in contempt, we will have a plan to hold in contempt and impeach,” Nunes vowed Tuesday night in an interview with Fox News host Laura Ingraham, as he set a new deadline of Wednesday evening.

“We are going to get the document. We are going to get the two pages,” Nunes added. “So they can either cough them up now, or it will get really complicated starting tomorrow night, and we’ll have to take all the steps necessary in order to get the document.”

Nunes’ threats apparently grabbed the attention of Rosenstein, as the Intelligence Committee chair was “finally” granted access to the long-sought document Wednesday afternoon, according to Business Insider.

“After numerous unfulfilled requests for an Electronic Communication (EC) related to the opening of the FBI’s Russia counterintelligence probe, Chairman Trey Gowdy and I met this afternoon with Attorney General Rod Rosenstein,” Nunes said in a statement released following the meeting.

Are you glad the DOJ is finally cooperating with Nunes' investigation?

“During the meeting, we were finally given access to a version of the EC that contained the information necessary to advance the Committee’s ongoing investigation of the Department of Justice and FBI,” he added.

Politico reported that a minimally redacted version of that document was later released to all members of the Intelligence Committee, with only the name of a foreign agent and foreign country shielded from view.

It is believed that this document laid bare what exactly compelled the FBI to open its investigation into Trump and Russia.

Recall that throughout most of 2017, the mainstream media kept reporting the investigation began because of the so-called “Steele dossier.” Of course, that document was really just a Hillary Clinton and DNC-funded collection of thinly sourced and unconfirmed memos alleging scandalous connections between then-candidate Trump and Russia. The document was used to obtain a FISA warrant against a marginal Trump campaign adviser named Carter Page.

That narrative changed, however, after The New York Times reported in December that the investigation was actually launched after a different marginal campaign adviser named George Papadopoulos had a drunken conversation with an Australian diplomat in a London bar. During this conversation, he allegedly revealed connections between the campaign and Russia.

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Though the still minimally redacted version of the two-page brief may obscure which of those two competing narratives is correct, Nunes and Gowdy were able to see the unredacted version and likely know for sure whether the investigation was started by the Steele dossier or Papadopoulos’ drunken ramblings.

While it is certainly a good thing that the DOJ finally cooperated with Nunes and handed over subpoenaed documents for the House investigation, it is disconcerting that it literally took a threat of impeachment to compel that reluctant cooperation.

That said, it is also wise to bear in mind that the DOJ, particularly in relation to its inspector general, has its own ongoing investigations to worry about. Some of the information sought by Congress remains integral to the integrity of those investigations and must be protected, hence the foot-dragging and stonewalling.

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Ben Marquis is a writer who identifies as a constitutional conservative/libertarian. He has written about current events and politics for The Western Journal since 2014. His focus is on protecting the First and Second Amendments.
Ben Marquis has written on current events and politics for The Western Journal since 2014. He reads voraciously and writes about the news of the day from a conservative-libertarian perspective. He is an advocate for a more constitutional government and a staunch defender of the Second Amendment, which protects the rest of our natural rights. He lives in Little Rock, Arkansas, with the love of his life as well as four dogs and four cats.
Birthplace
Louisiana
Nationality
American
Education
The School of Life
Location
Little Rock, Arkansas
Languages Spoken
English
Topics of Expertise
Politics




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