1) My latest @EpochTimes As Rosenstein Leaves DOJ, How Will History Judge Him?

Despite ongoing reports of his imminent firing, Rosenstein is leaving of his own accord and with the special counsel’s investigation concluded.
theepochtimes.com/as-rosenstein-…

2) Rosenstein was honored in an impressive ceremony that was attended by AG Barr, former AG Sessions, FBI Dir Wray.

Others, such as Kellyanne Conway were in attendance.

3) Rosenstein concluded the event, noting "I leave here confident that justice is in good hands, in your hands"

https://twitter.com/ABC/status/1126569539699757056

4) In his resignation letter, Rosenstein thanked President Trump:

“I am grateful to you for the opportunity to serve; for the courtesy and humor you often display in our personal conversations; and for the goals you set in your inaugural address”
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5) Rosenstein also quoted former Attorney General Robert Jackson:

“At the Department of Justice, we stand watch over what Attorney General Robert Jackson called ‘the inner ramparts of our society—the Constitution, its guarantees, our freedoms and the supremacy of law.’”

6) Rosenstein’s history as the U.S. attorney for the District of Maryland included several high-profile investigations, including those of Prince George’s County Executive Jack B. Johnson and former Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. James E. Cartwright.

7) Immediately prior to Cartwright’s January 2017 sentencing for leaking, Obama unexpectedly pardoned him.

Notably, Cartwright’s attorney was Washington lawyer and former White House counsel Greg Craig, who was recently indicted for FARA violations in Ukraine by Mueller.

8) Rosenstein was also involved in the prosecution of Vadim Mikerin, the director of Tenam.

Mikerin was engaging in a bribery kickback scheme and was moving the payments to offshore accounts, probably at the behest of Russian officials.

9) This case has often been conflated with the sale of Uranium One to the Russian government in a series of transactions, but it’s an entirely separate matter.

As the U.S. attorney for Maryland, Rosenstein had no involvement with any of the Uranium One transactions.

10) Rosenstein wrote the recommendation letter that would be used by Trump to fire Comey.

Media outlets have claimed that Rosenstein didn’t want to write the memo and former FBI Dep Dir Andrew McCabe alleged the letter wasn’t Rosenstein’s idea and that he regretted doing so.

11) It turns out that Rosenstein had discussed removing Comey with then-Sen. Jeff Sessions prior to Sessions’ confirmation as attorney general:

12) Although McCabe claimed Rosenstein was upset over supposedly having to write the memo, DOJ spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores said Rosenstein was upset that McCabe had failed to reveal the existence of an entirely different set of memos—written by Comey.

13) Rosenstein has been pilloried for his appointment of Mueller as special counsel, but it is worth examining how that appointment occurred.

Two days after Comey was fired, on May 11, 2017, McCabe testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee.

14) McCabe agreed to notify the committee “of any effort to interfere with the FBI’s ongoing investigation into links between Russia and the Trump campaign.”

McCabe also told members of Congress that there had been “no effort to impede our investigation to date.”

15) McCabe testified that he was unaware of any evidence of obstruction from Trump or his admin.

He failed to inform the committee that he was considering opening an obstruction-of-justice probe into Trump—a path that he would initiate in a meeting w/Rosenstein just 5 days later

16) On the morning of May 16, 2017, Rosenstein allegedly suggested to McCabe that he could secretly record Trump.

The allegations against Rosenstein, raised in September 2018, came only from McCabe, who had been fired for lying to the DOJ’s IG 3 separate times while under oath.

17) Others countered, saying Rosenstein had responded with angry sarcasm to McCabe, saying, “What do you want to do, Andy, wire the president?”

It was this same meeting where McCabe pushed for an investigation into Trump.

18) Sometime later that day, Rosenstein and Trump met with former FBI Director Mueller in the Oval Office.

Rosenstein appointed Mueller as special counsel the following day, on May 17, 2017.

In doing so, Rosenstein removed control of the Trump–Russia investigation from McCabe.

19) This was confirmed in a recent statement by a DOJ spokesperson:

“The deputy attorney general in fact appointed special counsel Robert Mueller, and directed that Mr. McCabe be removed from any participation in that investigation.
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20) Rosenstein would occupy several important additional positions.

On Aug. 4, 2017, Attorney General Sessions announced the formation of a newly established Leak Task Force and appointed Rosenstein as its co-head.

21) On Oct. 15, 2018, Sessions designated 5 groups as the nation’s top transnational organized-crime threats

Sessions announced the formation of an “organized crime task force of experienced prosecutors” and appointed Rosenstein to lead the new task force.

22) The appointment occurred shortly after Trump’s Oct. 8 affirmation of Rosenstein, following their meeting on Air Force One, which Trump said went “great.”

Hiss meeting w/Trump took place two weeks after McCabe’s allegations regarding Rosenstein’s wearing of a wire surfaced.

23) President Trump told reporters that he had no plans to fire Rosenstein, saying:

“I get along very well with him. I didn’t know Rod before [becoming president], but I got to know him.”

Trump added that he and Rosenstein “actually have a very good relationship.”

24) Following the release of the special counsel’s report, many again focused their ire on Rosenstein, blaming him for the length and duration of the Mueller investigation, as well as the contents of the report.

25) Often lost amid the emotions is the basic fact that Mueller found that President Trump hadn’t engaged in any collusion with Russia and left the question of obstruction up to Rosenstein and Barr, who jointly determined there had been none.

26) Worth considering is what might have happened if the Mueller investigation had been shortened, or appeared in any way partisan.

Trump appeared to be aware of this risk, having previously stated that he wanted the investigation to be “done properly.”

27) On June 29, 2017, almost exactly two months after his confirmation as deputy AG, Rosenstein signed the third FISA renewal on Carter Page.

He may have been the only authorized DOJ official available to do so.

Sessions was recused. Boente was not confirmed as NSD head.

28) Rosenstein addressed the FISA signing process and made some very interesting comments at the same time:

29) Exactly what Rosenstein meant by “the information that’s public about that doesn’t match with my understanding of the one that I signed” remains to be seen.

But he’s correct in that he isn’t the affiant.

30) One persistent myth about Rosenstein relates to his wife, Lisa Barsoomian, who was an asst U.S. attorney at the DOJ.

It appears the attack on Barsoomian can be traced back to a post made by Roger Stone on his website on June 22, 2017.

31) What Stone leaves out is that both Lawrence & Barsoomian were acting as asst U.S. attorneys for the DOJ and, in the course of those positions, represented the United States & FBI in various civil matters.

Barsoomian later worked for the National Institutes of Health.

32) Stone was indicted in January in connection to the Mueller probe for lying to Congress, making false and misleading statements, and tampering with witnesses.

He has pleaded not guilty, and his trial is scheduled to begin in November.

33) Rosenstein leaves after more than 2 years of service during a tumultuous period.

He faced immense criticism and pressure.

Despite ongoing reports of his imminent firing, Rosenstein is leaving of his own accord and with the special counsel’s investigation concluded.
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