House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi Nancy PelosiPelosi slams Trump executive order on pre-existing conditions: It 'isn't worth the paper it's signed on' On The Money: Anxious Democrats push for vote on COVID-19 aid | Pelosi, Mnuchin ready to restart talks | Weekly jobless claims increase | Senate treads close to shutdown deadline Trump signs largely symbolic pre-existing conditions order amid lawsuit MORE (D-Calif.) on Thursday suggested the conservative push to impeach Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein Rod RosensteinDOJ kept investigators from completing probe of Trump ties to Russia: report Five takeaways from final Senate Intel Russia report FBI officials hid copies of Russia probe documents fearing Trump interference: book MORE was launched, at least in part, to divert attention from Rep. Jim Jordan James (Jim) Daniel JordanHouse panel pulls Powell into partisan battles over pandemic Sunday shows preview: Justice Ginsburg dies, sparking partisan battle over vacancy before election House passes resolution condemning anti-Asian discrimination relating to coronavirus MORE’s (R-Ohio) entanglements in the sexual abuse investigation swirling around Ohio State University's (OSU) wrestling program.

Jordan, a conservative firebrand who helped introduce the impeachment articles against Rosenstein on Wednesday, was an assistant coach for OSU’s wrestling team decades ago, when a now-deceased medical doctor is accused of sexually abusing scores of athletes across a spectrum of sports.

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A number of the accusers have said Jordan knew of the abuse and did nothing to stop it — a charge the six-term lawmaker vehemently denies.

Pelosi on Thursday floated the idea that the Rosenstein impeachment effort is related to OSU’s ongoing investigation into the scandal — and Jordan’s association with it.

“I don’t know, but what I’ve heard is Jim Jordan wants to take attention away from the scrutiny that he is under in Ohio,” Pelosi told reporters in the Capitol when asked what she thought was fueling the impeachment push.

“That could be part of it.”

Pelosi’s comments came moments before The Daily Caller broke the news that Jordan will seek to replace outgoing Speaker Paul Ryan Paul Davis RyanKenosha will be a good bellwether in 2020 At indoor rally, Pence says election runs through Wisconsin Juan Williams: Breaking down the debates MORE (R-Wis.) next year — a clear indication that Jordan, a co-founder of the far-right House Freedom Caucus, is confident the allegations against him won’t be a weight on his political aspirations.

Jordan’s office did not respond to a request for comment about Pelosi’s remarks.

Introduced Wednesday night, the articles of impeachment targeting Rosenstein came after months of attacks on the Department of Justice (DOJ) from President Trump Donald John TrumpSteele Dossier sub-source was subject of FBI counterintelligence probe Pelosi slams Trump executive order on pre-existing conditions: It 'isn't worth the paper it's signed on' Trump 'no longer angry' at Romney because of Supreme Court stance MORE and his most ardent supporters on Capitol Hill.

The critics contend that the DOJ’s probe into Russia’s meddling in the 2016 presidential election is a politically motivated “witch hunt” designed solely to harm Trump and delegitimize his presidential victory.

Rosenstein, who was appointed by Trump, is overseeing the probe after Attorney General Jeff Sessions Jefferson (Jeff) Beauregard SessionsRoy Moore sues Alabama over COVID-19 restrictions GOP set to release controversial Biden report Trump's policies on refugees are as simple as ABCs MORE recused himself from Russia-related investigations last year. Rosenstein subsequently appointed special counsel Robert Mueller Robert (Bob) MuellerCNN's Toobin warns McCabe is in 'perilous condition' with emboldened Trump CNN anchor rips Trump over Stone while evoking Clinton-Lynch tarmac meeting The Hill's 12:30 Report: New Hampshire fallout MORE to conduct the investigation.

The impeachment articles — introduced by Jordan, Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows Mark Randall MeadowsAnxious Democrats amp up pressure for vote on COVID-19 aid Pelosi hopeful COVID-19 relief talks resume 'soon' The Hill's Morning Report - Sponsored by Facebook - GOP closes ranks to fill SCOTUS vacancy by November MORE (R-N.C.) and nine other conservative Republicans — contend Rosenstein has conflicts of interest in the Mueller probe since he endorsed a special court order allowing the wiretapping of Carter Page, a former adviser to Trump’s campaign.

The conservatives are also accusing the Justice Department of withholding vital documents from lawmakers on Capitol Hill.

“The DOJ is keeping information from Congress. Enough is enough,” Jordan said Wednesday in a statement. “It’s time to hold Mr. Rosenstein accountable for blocking Congress’s constitutional oversight role.”

Many Republicans, however, are opposing the impeachment push. And Ryan on Thursday pushed back against the conservatives leading it.

”I don't think we should be cavalier with this process or this term [impeachment]," he said. "I don't think this rises to the level of high crimes and misdemeanors."

Other GOP leaders, however, have their sights on climbing the leadership ladder and are jumping on board the impeachment effort — an issue that’s dividing Republicans just as the House is heading into the long August recess, when the party is hoping to maintain a unified front against the Democrats ahead of the November midterm elections.

Pelosi, for her part, said the impeachment articles are part of a broader Republican effort to defend Trump at all costs, even if it means tearing down public trust in the country’s law enforcement community.

“Truth and fact and data and evidence have never been something that the Republicans have sought or base their decisionmaking on. So they would want to hurt Rosenstein so that they could hurt the Mueller investigation,” she said.

“What they’re making is a statement [that] President Trump is above the law — period,” she added. "It’s a sad thing.”

Pelosi all but invited the Republicans to bring the impeachment articles to the floor, saying such a vote would be political gold for the Democrats.

“Hopefully saner minds will prevail on the Republican side, and they won’t bring this up. If they did, we welcome their voting on undermining our democracy,” Pelosi said.

“If they bring it up, they have a price to pay for going that route.”