"A Shameful, Cynical Attack on the Rule of Law"

House Republicans seeking to impeach Rod Rosenstein embarrass themselves.

On Wednesday, a handful of House Republicans introduced a resolution to impeach Deputy Attorney Genral Rod Rosenstein. It is a piece of work.

Harvard law professor Jack Goldsmith, former head of the Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel, took the resolution apart in the Weekly Standard.

"The July 25 resolution by 11 House Republicans introducing articles of impeachment against deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein is not a serious legal document," Goldsmith explains. The document contains multiple factual errors, including the accusation that Rosenstein is somehow responsible for things that occurred over six months before he took his position at DOJ, and makes legally unsupported charges. Goldsmith concludes:

The articles of impeachment are a shameful, cynical attack on the rule of law. They are all the worse since they come in the context of our government's trying to figure out the undoubted efforts by the Russians to manipulate our democracy in 2016.

Apparently Goldsmith was not the only person to notice the impeachment resolution's failings. The House leadership opposes consideration of the resolution and one of the resolution's drafters—Rep. Mark Meadows—is now reportedly tabling the effort. (The resolution's other drafter, on the other hand—Rep. Jim Jordan—is reportedly considering a run for Speaker.)