The Illustrated Spygate Scandal - Part XXXIV

The first political coup in American history

See Part I to start at the beginning.

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June 12, 2018: Rosenstein Threatened Congressional Investigators

Fox News published a bombshell report: Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein had threatened to “subpoena” emails, phone records and other documents from lawmakers and staff on the House Intelligence Committee during a January 2018 meeting.

According to emails memorializing the encounter, Rosenstein had reacted angrily to the committee’s document requests, saying that if the committee wanted to act like litigators, the DOJ would too, and would subpoena the committee’s records and emails.

Committee staffer Kash Patel wrote that Rosenstein had “launched a sustained personal attack” in “retaliation for vigorous oversight.”

Another staffer wrote that having “the nation’s #1 law enforcement officer threaten to ‘subpoena your calls and emails’ was downright chilling.”

The emails painted a picture of a Deputy Attorney General who was hostile to congressional oversight and willing to use his authority to intimidate investigators.

The incident revealed the deep animosity between DOJ leadership and congressional investigators. The investigators viewed Rosenstein’s stonewalling as obstruction of their constitutional duties.

The confrontation was part of a larger pattern: DOJ and FBI officials resisting, delaying, and obstructing congressional attempts to investigate FISA abuse, the origins of the Russia investigation, and the handling of the Clinton email case.

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June 19, 2018: Strzok Escorted From FBI Headquarters

The Washington Post reported that FBI agent Peter Strzok had been escorted from FBI headquarters, though he remained an employee of the bureau.