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By CCN: Rod Rosenstein is the latest high ranking official to depart the White House. The man who oversaw the widely publicized Mueller Report is heading for the hills for fear of a grilling from both Democrats and Republicans. One of Trump’s favorite punching bags, the Deputy Attorney General’s letter of resignation is a strange combination of justifying his actions and praise for his former boss.
Rod Rosenstein’s Resignation Letter Appears to Be Pro-Trump
Even reading between the lines, this letter of resignation is extraordinarily two-faced. The president at one time shared the following picture of Rod behind bars due to his handling of the Mueller Report.
— The Trump Train 🚂🇺🇸 (@The_Trump_Train) November 28, 2018
Bear in mind this is the same Rosenstein that was going to wear a wire to spy on the President after the firing of James Comey. So why all the praise and sycophantic language?
Here are the pro-Trump quotes amidst the waffle,
“We keep the faith, we follow the rules, and we always put America first.”
And earlier,
“Principled leaders devoted to the values that make America great.”
Despite this, it’s almost as if Rosenstein is lecturing Trump about what the U.S. stands for when he states it’s not about “opinion polls”. It’s still very much interpretive bias to come to any clear conclusion on what he is actually trying to say.
Muller Report Is at the Heart of All this Drama
Perhaps the answer lies in what James Comey wrote about Rosenstein, calling him the “Survivor.” Rod is trying to walk the line here between having his cake and eating it too. He wants to show Democrats that he didn’t support everything the President did in regards to the bombastic Mueller Report, but at the same time not wanting to draw the ire of the mercurial President.
As Attorney General Bar collides head-on with the House, a dramatic standoff is currently underway between the administration and furious Democrats at the handling of Robert Mueller’s findings. Subpoenas are flying around, and the White House is fighting every one of them. There is a chance that the AG might not show up this week. Meanwhile, in the background, Rosenstein is getting out of dodge.
Damned If He Does and Damned If He Doesn’t
Clearly what Rosenstein doesn’t want to do is face a grilling with every detail of the Russia Investigation put under a legal microscope. This is the same reason that Barr doesn’t want to appear before Congress. While you can make a case that his interpretation of the Mueller Report was the correct conclusion given the context of the FBI’s purpose, there are so many grey areas which would be exhausting to defend under the bright lights of a congressional hearing.
The following tweet demonstrates precisely why Rosenstein is afraid to take the oath.
Rod Rosenstein resigning effective 5/11. A recent exchange I had with him:
Me: You quoted Donald Trump on respecting the rule of law. Seriously?
RR: It was a good quote.
Me: Do you think he believed it?
RR: [Pause]
Me: Do you?
RR: Those were good words.— David Corn (@DavidCornDC) April 29, 2019
It’s quite apparent that he doesn’t believe the President has much respect for the rule of law. Obviously, he doesn’t want to have to say that on live TV. Mix a less concrete DOJ opinion into the handling of Robert Mueller and his report (which Rosenstein oversaw), and it is quite clear that some of Barr’s conclusion might look more Partisan.
Trump Wants to Distance Himself From Rosenstein
Democrats are desperate for a press day talking about the most embarrassing pieces of Robert Mueller’s findings. Trump, on the other hand, is desperate to avoid that. He has now distanced himself from Rosenstein, and that could come in handy if the former DAG finds himself in the House’s hot seat.
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