© 2026 ABC News

Congressional Republicans are also clashing with Rosenstein over his handling of the Russia investigation and DOJ production of documents to Republican oversight investigations.

\"PHOTO:
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
PHOTO: House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, followed by Rep. Chris Stewart and Rep. Mike Conaway, far left, on Capitol Hill in Washington, March 22, 2018.
>

On Tuesday night, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes also appeared to up the pressure on DOJ and the FBI, warning on Fox News that his committee could move to hold Rosenstein in contempt of Congress or even impeach him or FBI Director Chris Wray for failing to comply for a request for documents and information in Republicans’ investigation into alleged political bias and abuse of governmental surveillance programs.

The California Republican appeared to dial down that threat Wednesday night, after the Justice Department allowed him and Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., to review a key FBI document related to the opening of the counterintelligence investigation into the Trump campaign and alleged ties to Russia in 2016.

A Justice official confirmed that the Republicans – along with Democrats on the committee – had received access to a redacted version of the document known as an electronic communication.

Still, other Republicans, while they may not support Nunes’ threat to impeach the embattled deputy attorney general, believe that top DOJ officials, including Attorney General Jeff Sessions, should resign.

“I think he’s one of the most decent people in Washington DC,” Rep. Chris Stewart, R-Utah, a member of the Intelligence Committee, said in an interview. “But I think it was a mistake to recuse himself.”

Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., a leading House conservative and Trump confidant, blasted DOJ officials Wednesday for the pace of document production to the House Oversight and Judiciary Committees, where Republicans are reviewing the FBI’s handling of the Clinton email probe.

“He’s not giving us the documents and he’s not doing his job,” he said of Rosenstein. “And if he’s not going to do his job, he needs to go and find one that he will do.”

“The frustration with the AG and the deputy AG is probably more a focus of Congress and it probably makes the President’s dissatisfaction pale in comparison.”

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, the second-ranking Senate Republican, who dined with President Trump and other GOP leaders last night at the White House, told ABC News that Mueller and the special counsel probe did not come up in the meeting.

\"It would be a mistake and there would be consequences that the president would come to regret,\" he said.

As Trump and Republicans continue to question the agency and top law enforcement officials, Cornyn took to the Senate floor Thursday to defend the “rank-and-file” at the DOJ and FBI.

“We appreciate everything you do to protect the public safety and secure the public trust. These days it’s important that our appreciation for the bureau not get drowned out by the criticism,” he said.

","canonicalUrl":"https://abcnews.com/Politics/lawmakers-move-protect-special-counsel-russia-probe-amid/story?id=54423571","legacySlug":"/news/story/lawmakers-move-protect-special-counsel-russia-probe-amid-54423571","noIndexNoFollow":false},"publishTime":"20:25","publishDate":"04-12-2018","updatedTime":"00:08","updatedDate":"04-13-2018","socialImage":{"alt":"Democratic House Judiciary Committee members, from left, Rep. Steve Cohen, Rep. Jerrold Nadler, the ranking member, Rep. Zoe Lofgren, Rep. Luis Gutierrez, speaking, and Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, hold a news conference to announce they are taking steps to protect special counsel Robert Mueller's job as President Donald Trump has angrily mused about firing him while investigating potential ties between Russia and Trump's 2016 campaign, at the Capitol in Washington, April 12, 2018.","credit":"J. Scott Applewhite/AP","ratio":"16x9","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/Politics/democratic-house-judiciary-committee-ap-mem-180412_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg","width":992,"height":558},"datePublished":"4/12/2018 20:25:00 GMT","video":{"live":false,"id":54423571,"headline":"Lawmakers move to protect special counsel Mueller","mediaAssetTitle":"SIEGEL_CONGRESS_MUELLER_PROBE_20180412","description":"The legislation would allow the special counsel to appeal any firing. ","duration":"2:08","posterImg":{"url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","width":608,"height":342},"video":{"feed":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2018/04/180412_wn_philips_640_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8"},"playlist":["132306053","132266872","132055565"]},"relatedItems":[{"contentType":"video","date":"April 23, 2026","headline":"Trump orders Navy to 'shoot and kill' any boat laying mines in Strait of Hormuz","section":"News","slug":"/video/132306053","id":"132306053","image":{"alt":"VIDEO: Trump orders Navy to 'shoot and kill' any boat laying mines in Strait of Hormuz","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260423_gma_scott_ceasefire3_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","width":384,"height":384},"images":{"alt":"VIDEO: Trump orders Navy to 'shoot and kill' any boat laying mines in Strait of Hormuz","credit":"ABCNews.com","crops":[{"16x9":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260423_gma_scott_ceasefire3_hpMain_16x9_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260423_gma_scott_ceasefire3_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260423_gma_scott_ceasefire3_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"9x16":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260423_gma_scott_ceasefire3_hpMain_9x16_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260423_gma_scott_ceasefire3_hpMain_9x16_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260423_gma_scott_ceasefire3_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"1x1":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260423_gma_scott_ceasefire3_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260423_gma_scott_ceasefire3_hpMain_1x1_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260423_gma_scott_ceasefire3_hpMain_1x1_1600.jpg"}}]}},{"contentType":"video","date":"April 22, 2026","headline":"Fallout after Fed nominee grilled on Capitol Hill","section":"News","slug":"/video/132266872","id":"132266872","image":{"alt":"VIDEO: Fallout after Fed nominee grilled on Capitol Hill","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260422_gma_schulze_fed3_713_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","width":384,"height":384},"images":{"alt":"VIDEO: Fallout after Fed nominee grilled on Capitol Hill","credit":"ABCNews.com","crops":[{"16x9":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260422_gma_schulze_fed3_713_hpMain_16x9_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260422_gma_schulze_fed3_713_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260422_gma_schulze_fed3_713_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"9x16":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260422_gma_schulze_fed3_713_hpMain_9x16_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260422_gma_schulze_fed3_713_hpMain_9x16_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260422_gma_schulze_fed3_713_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"1x1":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260422_gma_schulze_fed3_713_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260422_gma_schulze_fed3_713_hpMain_1x1_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260422_gma_schulze_fed3_713_hpMain_1x1_1600.jpg"}}]}},{"contentType":"video","date":"April 15, 2026","headline":"American influencer found dead in Tanzania","section":"News","slug":"/video/132055565","id":"132055565","image":{"alt":"VIDEO: American influencer found dead in Tanzania","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260415_gma_norwood_ashlee2_732_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","width":384,"height":384},"images":{"alt":"VIDEO: American influencer found dead in Tanzania","credit":"ABCNews.com","crops":[{"16x9":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260415_gma_norwood_ashlee2_732_hpMain_16x9_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260415_gma_norwood_ashlee2_732_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260415_gma_norwood_ashlee2_732_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"9x16":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260415_gma_norwood_ashlee2_732_hpMain_9x16_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260415_gma_norwood_ashlee2_732_hpMain_9x16_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260415_gma_norwood_ashlee2_732_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"1x1":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260415_gma_norwood_ashlee2_732_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260415_gma_norwood_ashlee2_732_hpMain_1x1_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260415_gma_norwood_ashlee2_732_hpMain_1x1_1600.jpg"}}]}}],"relatedContentSection":"news","schemaContent":{"name":"Lawmakers move to protect special counsel Mueller","description":"The legislation would allow the special counsel to appeal any firing. ","duration":"2:08","uploadDate":"04-12-2018","publication":"04-12-2018","images":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","url":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2018/04/180412_wn_philips_640_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","contentUrl":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2018/04/180412_wn_philips_640_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","link":"https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/news/story/lawmakers-move-protect-special-counsel-russia-probe-amid-54423571"}},"playlist":[{"id":"132281378","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132283010","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132273278","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132231169","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132206748","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132200241","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132054443","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132054798","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"132033010","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131912713","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131830583","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131834976","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131554765","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131554815","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131543053","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131432442","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131121474","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131247079","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131228784","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131178806","contentType":"story","section":"news"}],"kvps":{"pgtyp":"article","lang":"en","sp":"goodmorningamerica","programmatic":"true","bundleId":"com.abcnews"}},"analytics":{"accountID":"wdgnewwdgnewgmaweb","ns":"gma","pageName":"gma:news:video","pageType":"video","globalSpecVersion":"v1.08","siteDifferentiator":"gma:site","tagID":"g_page01","userABCookie":"0","section":"news","title":"Lawmakers move to protect special counsel Mueller","pubTime":"16:25","pubDate":"04-12-2018","modTime":"20:08","modDate":"04-12-2018","taxonomyTags":"none","id":54423571,"editorialOtherSubjects":"","wordCount":"none","columns":"none","authors":"","authorsUnit":"none","authorsBureau":"none","subBrand":"Good Morning America","provider":"Good Morning America","videoName":"Lawmakers move to protect special counsel Mueller","mediaAssetTitle":"SIEGEL_CONGRESS_MUELLER_PROBE_20180412","videoId":54423571,"mediaOnPage":"video","legacySlug":"/news/story/lawmakers-move-protect-special-counsel-russia-probe-amid-54423571"},"taboola":{}},"request":{"headers":{},"httpVersion":"1.1","method":"GET","url":"/video/54423571","vary":{"host":"www.goodmorningamerica.com","cached":true,"path":"/video/54423571","forwarded-proto":"https","device":"desktop","userab":"0"}},"viewport":{"width":1260,"height":0},"user":{}};