Of all the questions Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein faced at a congressional hearing Thursday, the most uncomfortable might have been whether he would allow himself to be prosecuted for a crime.

The question came from Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) at a hearing of the House Judiciary Committee. Issa pressed Rosenstein and FBI Director Christopher Wray over what he sees as a double standard between the way Department of Justice (DOJ) officials treat themselves, compared with everyone else.

Issa referenced a statute governing congressional contempt actions against government officials. The law says that anytime Congress has voted to hold someone in contempt it “shall” be referred to a U.S. attorney and presented to a grand jury.

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“If either of you are held in contempt, will you allow yourself, allow the U.S. attorney to bring that case before a grand jury pursuant to the law? Or will you, like your predecessors, object?” Issa asked.

Issa recalled that when the House of Representatives held then-Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt for his failure to produce documents related to the gun-running operation known as Operation Fast and Furious, the DOJ refused to send it to a prosecutor.

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“The U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia did not make that decision,” he said. “In fact, that decision was made at the highest level of the Department of Justice, simply to hold out.”

Rosenstein said he was not familiar with the specific statute or past department policy. Issa asked him if he believes he is above the law.

“No, sir,” Rosenstein said.

Said Issa: “Good, I’ll take that as if you are held in contempt, you will go forward.”

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The exchange played out against the backdrop of increasingly frustrated House Republicans who have been trying to obtain documents they hope will shed light on the origins of the counterintelligence investigation that preceded special counsel Robert Muller’s probe into election meddling by Russian agents and possible participation by President Donald Trump’s campaign.

House Republicans have accused Rosenstein of resisting their efforts, and on Thursday, the House passed a resolution that some see as the first step toward holding him in contempt.

Rosenstein insisted that he is making every effort to supply the information to which Congress is entitled. He said 100 employees have been assigned to the team that is reviewing documents and redacting sensitive information that is not subject to congressional review.

“Now under both President [George W.] Bush and under President [Barack] Obama, you two and your predecessors have decided that you’re going to consider ‘shall’ as ‘If I feel like it, if I think the case is worthy.'”

“The fact that the department receives a subpoena and is unable to respond immediately because of volume or to make redactions, that doesn’t mean that we’re in contempt,” he said. “Sometimes there are legitimate differences of opinion as to whether or not certain information is subject to be produced.”

Added Rosenstein: “There are mechanisms to resolve this without threatening to hold people in contempt, which is, in fact, a crime … We are not in contempt of this Congress. We are not going to be in contempt of this Congress.”

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Issa said the imperious attitude of executive branch officials predates the current administration. In addition to Holder, he noted that the Bush administration refused to refer a contempt charge that the Democratic-controlled House leveled at former Bush White House counsel Harriet Miers after she refused to show up for a hearing on the dismissal of eight U.S. attorneys.

Issa also asked Wray if the FBI would open an investigation into former Director James Comey related to his apparent violation of a nondisclosure agreement based on media reports about an inspector general report that came out before its public release.

Wray said he would not comment on any criminal investigation his agency may or may not open, but he added, “Nobody on this planet is above the law.”

PoliZette senior writer Brendan Kirby can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter.

(photo credit, homepage image: Rod Rosenstein, CC BY 2.0, by Internet Education Foundation; photo credit, article images: YouTube)