Contempt, impeachment in play for Rod Rosenstein

The showdown between Congress and the Justice Department over Russia escalated Tuesday after the House Judiciary Committee voted in favor of a resolution demanding that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein hand over sensitive documents related to the investigation into suspected meddling in the 2016 U.S. elections.

Committee members approved the resolution on a 15-11 party-line vote. It is now up to Republican leaders to decide whether they will bring the measure for a vote before the full House.

If the resolution passes, Mr. Rosenstein will have seven days to respond to the document request, but there is no penalty if he does not comply. Rep. Jim Jordan, Ohio Republican, promoted the measure as a first step toward punishing Mr. Rosenstein if he does not turn over documents requested by the committee.

“We want the full weight of the United States House of Representatives behind this resolution saying ‘we are entitled … to get the information we need to do our oversight duty,” Mr. Jordan said.

Options include a subpoena for Mr. Rosenstein, holding him in contempt of Congress or going so far as to impeach him.

Although impeachment is rarely used, conservative lawmakers have discussed it more frequently in recent weeks. In April, the House Freedom Caucus drafted eight articles of impeachment against Mr. Rosenstein.

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