Tag: Rod Rosenstein

Exclusive: Trump asked Rosenstein if he was ‘on my team’

The following exclusive article by Pamela Pere and Laura Jarrett was posted on the CNN website February 1, 2018:

Washington (CNN) — Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein visited the White House in December seeking President Donald Trump’s help. The top Justice Department official in the Russia investigation wanted Trump’s support in fighting off document demands from House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes.

But the President had other priorities ahead of a key appearance by Rosenstein on the Hill, according to sources familiar with the meeting. Trump wanted to know where the special counsel’s Russia investigation was heading. And he wanted to know whether Rosenstein was “on my team.” Continue reading “Exclusive: Trump asked Rosenstein if he was ‘on my team’”

GOP lawmakers say Trump would make mistake in firing Rosenstein

The following article by Scott Wong was posted on the Hill website January 31, 2018:

Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein appears at the Global Cyber Security Summit in London this month. (Credit: Mary Turner/Reuters)

Republicans say President Trump would be making a big mistake in firing Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.

The Justice Department’s No. 2 official has been in the president’s crosshairs since appointing special counsel Robert Mueller to lead the agency’s Russia investigation.

He’s the only official who could fire Mueller given Attorney General Jeff Sessions’s decision to recuse himself from Russia-related matters.

Some Republicans are now worried that a soon-to-be-released memo from GOP staff on the House Intelligence Committee could hand Trump more ammunition to fire Rosenstein — a move they fear would boomerang on the White House and Republicans running for reelection in the House and Senate. Continue reading “GOP lawmakers say Trump would make mistake in firing Rosenstein”

Justice Dept. officials appealed to White House to halt release of memo alleging FBI abuses related to author of Trump dossier

The following article by Josh Dawsey and Devlin Barrett was posted on the Washington Post website January 30, 2018:

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein warned White House Chief of Staff John Kelly Monday about the risks of releasing the document. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

Top Justice Department officials made a last-ditch plea Monday to White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly about the dangers of publicly releasing a memo alleging abuses by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, according to people briefed on the meeting.

Shortly before the House Intelligence Committee voted to make the document public, Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein warned Kelly that the four-page memo prepared by House Republicans could jeopardize classified information and implored the president to reconsider his support for making it public, those people said. Rosenstein was joined in the meeting at the White House by FBI Director Christopher A. Wray. Continue reading “Justice Dept. officials appealed to White House to halt release of memo alleging FBI abuses related to author of Trump dossier”

Here’s what’s actually in the Justice Department memo that Republicans claim is so shocking

The following article by Melanie Schmitz was posted on the ThinkProgress website January 29, 2018:

The memo is reportedly filled with cherry-picked facts meant to paint the Justice Department in a nefarious light.

WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 03: Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein (C) leaves the U.S. Capitol after a meeting with House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) January 3, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

The contents of a secretive memo being circulated by Republican lawmakers on Capitol Hill were finally made public on Sunday, after sources spoke with The New York Times and laid them out in detail. For the most part, the report appears to back what Democrats have contended: that the memo is comprised of “cherry-picked” facts meant to paint the Justice Department — which is investigating possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russian officials — in a bad light.

The memo, which Republicans have called “shocking,” “troubling,” and “worse than Watergate,” reportedly focuses on Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who was appointed in April 2017. The Times report states that the memo shows Rosenstein “approved an application to extend surveillance” on former Trump campaign associate Carter Page, a subject in the ongoing Russia investigation, shortly after taking office. Continue reading “Here’s what’s actually in the Justice Department memo that Republicans claim is so shocking”

Secret Memo Hints at a New Republican Target: Rod Rosenstein

The following article by Nicolas Fandos, Adam Goldman and Sharon LaFraniere was posted on the New York Times website January 28, 2018:

Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein at a hearing in December. Mr. Rosenstein is said to have approved an application for surveillance of a former Trump associate. Credit Pete Marovich for The New York Times

WASHINGTON — A secret, highly contentious Republican memo reveals that Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein approved an application to extend surveillance of a former Trump campaign associate shortly after taking office last spring, according to three people familiar with it.

The renewal shows that the Justice Department under President Trump saw reason to believe that the associate, Carter Page, was acting as a Russian agent. But the reference to Mr. Rosenstein’s actions in the memo — a much-disputed document that paints the investigation into Russian election meddling as tainted from the start — indicates that Republicans may be moving to seize on his role as they seek to undermine the inquiry. Continue reading “Secret Memo Hints at a New Republican Target: Rod Rosenstein”

Nunes announces deal for FBI files, interviews

The following article by John Bowden was posted on the Hill website January 4, 2018:

© Greg Nash

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) said Thursday that he has reached a deal with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein for documents and interviews relating to FBI agents who were removed from special counsel Robert Mueller‘s team over anti-Trump text messages.

In a letter detailing an earlier conversation between the two men released by Nunes on Thursday night, the California Republican announced that the House Intelligence Committee will gain access to documents and text messages relating to agent Peter Strzok and his FBI colleague Lisa Page, as well as access to a number of FBI witnesses themselves, later in January. Continue reading “Nunes announces deal for FBI files, interviews”

Top FBI, DOJ officials huddle with Ryan to talk dossier

The following article by Karoun Demirjian and Matt Zapotosky was posted on the Washington Post website January 4, 2018:

Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein, left, leaves the Capitol in Washington on Wednesday after a meeting with House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.). (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Top federal law enforcement officials huddled with House Speaker Paul D. Ryan on Wednesday afternoon to discuss a request from congressional investigators for documents related to a dossier alleging connections between President Trump and Russia, according to people familiar with the meeting, and hours later, a deal was apparently reached.

Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein and FBI Director Christopher A. Wray requested the meeting, according to Ryan spokeswoman AshLee Strong. A spokeswoman for the Justice Department declined to comment. Continue reading “Top FBI, DOJ officials huddle with Ryan to talk dossier”

Senior Justice Department official rejects Republican complaints about Russia investigation

The following article by Chris Megerian was posted on the Los Angeles Times website December 13, 2017:

Deputy Atty. Gen. Rod Rosenstein speaks before a House Judiciary Committee hearing on Wednesday. He defended special counsel Robert S. Mueller III from Republican accusations that the investigation into President Trump’s allies was tainted by partisan bias. (Andrew Harnik / Associated Press)

Deputy Atty. Gen. Rod Rosenstein, who oversees the investigation into whether President Trump’s team assisted Russian meddling in last year’s campaign, pushed back strongly Wednesday against Republican accusations that the probe is infected with partisan bias and steadfastly defended special counsel Robert S. Mueller III.

“The special counsel’s investigation is not a witch hunt,” Rosenstein told a heated House Judiciary Committee hearing, specifically rejecting the phrase that President Trump has used to denounce the case. He said Mueller has managed the case “appropriately.”

Rosenstein also said he would not fire Mueller unless the former FBI director had violated Justice Department guidelines or the law. “If there were good cause, I would act,” he said. “If there were no good cause, I would not.” Continue reading “Senior Justice Department official rejects Republican complaints about Russia investigation”

Mueller requested DOJ hand over documents related to Comey firing: report

The following article by Olivia Beavers was posted on the Hill website November 19, 2017:

© Getty Images

Special counsel Robert Mueller asked the Justice Department within the past month to turn over a wide array of documents as part of its ongoing investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, ABC News reported Sunday.

His team is particularly interested in materials that relate to Trump’s dismissal of former FBI Director James Comey and Attorney General Jeff Sessions‘s decision to recuse himself from the Russia probe earlier this year, a source who was told about the request informed ABC News. Continue reading “Mueller requested DOJ hand over documents related to Comey firing: report”

The man who oversees the Russia investigation thinks Americans are too ‘savvy’ for Russian ads to work

The following article by Aaron Blake was posted on the Washington Post website October 26, 2017:

Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein appears at the Global Cyber Security Summit in London this month. (Mary Turner/Reuters)

Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein is in charge of overseeing special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. The U.S. intelligence community has said explicitly that it has no opinion on whether Russian interference affected the election.

But Rosenstein does — at least when it comes to the ads for which Russia paid.

Appearing on the “Target USA” podcast from Washington’s WTOP radio station, Rosenstein said he thought American voters were too “savvy” to be influenced by such ads.

Here’s the full quote, in context: Continue reading “The man who oversees the Russia investigation thinks Americans are too ‘savvy’ for Russian ads to work”