Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) and Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) were vague about whether the session with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein would take place before the midterm elections. | Alex Brandon/AP Photo Congress Rosenstein meeting with House leaders postponed

House leaders have postponed their highly anticipated questioning of Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein just a day before they were to hold a closed-door interview of the No. 2 Justice Department official about claims that he disparaged President Donald Trump.

In a statement Tuesday evening, Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, and Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), chairman of the House Oversight Committee, announced that the session was being put off. They did not give a new date and were vague about whether the session — demanded by House Republican conservatives — would take place before the midterm elections, now just two weeks away.


“The Committees are unable to ask all questions of Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein within the time allotted for tomorrow’s transcribed interview, therefore, the interview will be postponed,” Goodlatte and Gowdy said in a statement. “Mr. Rosenstein has indicated his willingness to testify before the Judiciary and Oversight Committees in the coming weeks in either a transcribed interview or a public setting. We appreciate his willingness to appear and will announce further details once it has been rescheduled.”

A Justice Department official confirmed that House leaders had asked for the postponement, citing a desire to have a longer session. Wednesday’s meeting was scheduled to begin at 4:30 p.m.

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For several weeks, Reps. Mark Meadows of North Carolina and Jim Jordan of Ohio have been demanding a chance to interview Rosenstein. They pointed to a New York Times report that Rosenstein proposed wearing a wire to record Trump and that he also suggested invoking the 25th Amendment, a Constitutional provision that can be used to suspend or remove a president suffering from physical or mental problems.

Under the terms of the deal for the House interview, Meadows and Jordan would not have been able to attend and would have had to seek to ask questions through the committee chairmen, both of whom are retiring from Congress at the end of the year.

Rosenstein and his allies insisted that his statements were sarcastic reactions to comments made by others in private meetings last year.

Nevertheless, The Times report triggered rumors and, in some circles, concerns that Trump would fire Rosenstein. Such a move could be politically explosive because the deputy attorney general is overseeing special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, including potential collusion by Trump’s campaign.

People close to Rosenstein, however, have suggested that the pressure on him has abated, at least for now.

Earlier this month, Rosenstein traveled on Air Force One with Trump to a law enforcement convention in Florida. Trump told reporters that day that he had no plans to fire the deputy attorney general. The president later said the pair had “a very good talk,” but he did not give details.

