GOP lawmaker: FBI, DOJ officials 'should be held in contempt' if dossier docs not turned over

close

Video

Rep. Rooney on penalties if agents don't produce documents

Florida congressman speaks out about the Mueller investigation, discusses Congress' 2018 to-do list on 'America's News HQ.'

A Republican lawmaker says top officials at the FBI and the Department of Justice “should be held in contempt” of Congress if they don’t hand over documents related to an anti-Trump dossier to the House Intelligence Committee.

“I think if they don't produce those documents on the third of January, they should be held in contempt,” Florida Rep. Francis Rooney said Saturday on Fox News’ “America's News Headquarters.”

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes has previously said he has instructed committee staff to begin drawing up a contempt of Congress resolution for Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and FBI Director Christopher Wray unless the committee’s demands for records are met.

In a Thursday letter to Rosenstein obtained by Fox News, Nunes expressed frustration that information and witnesses subpoenaed by the committee in August related to the so-called Steele dossier had not yet been turned over. The salacious dossier includes unverified allegations about President Trump's connections with Russia that he has denied.

NUNES BLASTS DOJ, FBI FOR 'FAILURE' TO PRODUCE RECORDS RELATING TO ANTI-TRUMP DOSSIER

“Unfortunately, DOJ/FBI's intransigence with respect to the August 24 subpoenas is part of a broader pattern of behavior that can no longer be tolerated,” the California Republican wrote to Rosenstein.

Nunes has demanded that all records – and available dates for witnesses to testify – be provided to the committee by Jan 3.

Fox News reported this month that Bruce Ohr, a senior Justice Department official, was demoted amid questions about his contacts with the opposition research firm responsible for the anti-Trump dossier.

Among the information being sought by the committee are reports that summarize meetings between FBI confidential human sources and FBI officials about the Steele dossier.

Last week, Rooney, the Florida Republican, made news for calling for a “purge” at the FBI of “people who are kind of the deep state."

He specifically said he’d like to see Peter Strzok -- a former FBI official who was removed from the special counsel investigation after a number of anti-Trump texts were discovered on his phone – purged from the FBI.