In Rosenstein hearing, Republicans prove they observe no principle

At the House Judiciary Committee hearing with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, Republican congressmen demonstrated that they support the rule of law only when it serves their political purposes. (“Ripping into Rosenstein, GOP urges end to probe,” June 28). Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio insinuated that Mr. Rosenstein was “keeping information from Congress” about the Mueller investigation. Mr. Jordan, whose defense of President Donald Trump’s behavior and rhetoric borders on deification, appears unconcerned about possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russian meddling in the 2016 election. Nor am I aware of any efforts he has made to prevent future Russian interference.

For his part, South Carolina Republican Rep. Trey Gowdy, in a performance that should earn him the title, “House hypocrite-in-chief,” wants Messrs. Rosenstein and Mueller to “finish [the investigation] the hell up,” arguing that it has gone on too long and is dividing the country. We need to remember that it was Mr. Gowdy himself who led the House Select Committee on Benghazi from May 8, 2014, until December 12, 2016, or a period of 2 years and 7 months. By contrast, Former FBI Director Mueller and his staff have been engaged in their process since May17, 2017, or just over one year. I wonder if Mr. Rosenstein’s and Mr. Mueller’s impatient critics can recall that Special Prosecutor Kenneth Starr investigated President Bill Clinton from August 1994 until January 1999, going on 5 years.

Republican opponents of the Mueller investigation should refresh their memories of prior special investigations and let the current one run its course. The benefit to the country of knowing what really happened in 2016 will far outweigh a hasty retreat from the truth, and it may teach us what we need to do to safeguard future elections.