House GOP group files for Rosenstein’s impeachment

UPDATE: House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said Thursday he did not support the articles of impeachment that 11 conservative lawmakers filed against Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. Ryan told reporters he didn’t think Rosenstein’s disputes with GOP House members about document requests met the constitutional standard for impeachment. Attorney General Jeff Sessions also defended his deputy Thursday, saying he had the highest confidence in Rosenstein.

OUR EARLIER REPORT (10:57 a.m.): Eleven House Republicans introduced articles of impeachment Wednesday against Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who oversees special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Reps. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., and Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, said Rosenstein is stonewalling House requests for documents related to the beginning of the Russia probe and a closed investigation into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server while secretary of state. House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., has not yet signed on to the effort, and South Carolina Republican Rep. Trey Gowdy, chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, questioned the tactic’s effectiveness. “If you are looking for documents, then you want compliance, and you want whatever moves you toward compliance,” he said.