How Rosenstein tried to mollify Trump, protect Mueller and save his job
President Trump shakes hands with Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, right, at the White House in October. By Matt Zapotosky , Matt Zapotosky National security reporter covering the Justice Department Email Bio Follow Josh Dawsey and Josh Dawsey Reporter covering the White House Email Bio Follow Devlin Barrett Devlin Barrett Reporter focusing on national security and law enforcement Email Bio Follow April 26 at 3:20 PM Rod J. Rosenstein, again, was in danger of losing his job.
He added: “My relationship with the President is not one-dimensional. The Russia investigation represents only a fraction of my work and the work of the Department of Justice. I talk with the President at every opportunity about the great progress we have made and are making at the Department of Justice in achieving the Administration’s law enforcement priorities and protecting American citizens.”
Trump ended the call with Rosenstein thinking he was “on the team after all,” one senior administration official said, adding that the president has been further swayed by Rosenstein’s deference in meetings and other settings. “Some of the nonsense that passes for breaking news today would not be worth the paper it was printed on, if anybody bothered to print it,” he said.
Rosenstein said in his speech Thursday: “Last week, the big topic of discussion was, ‘What were you thinking when you stood behind Bill Barr at that press conference, with a deadpan expression?’ The answer is I was thinking, ‘My job is to stand here with a deadpan expression.’ ” A person close to Rosenstein said the deputy attorney general — in his dealings with Trump and others — sought to protect the investigation.
The person said Rosenstein left for another, regularly scheduled White House meeting but soon had a call with Trump. Even in the days that followed, his departure seemed so certain that the Justice Department lined up a succession plan. But Rosenstein ultimately met with Trump aboard Air Force One a few weeks later and remained at the Justice Department. He might do so almost up to the point his successor is confirmed.
“You had people drawing a red line around him to protect him in the beginning. Now those same people are going to say, ‘Oh, he’s a conservative hack,’ ” said James M. Trusty, a partner at Ifrah Law and a friend of Rosenstein’s. “In the future, as people look back, there’s lots of room for criticism on lots of things at the FBI and DOJ, but I think he’ll be acquitted nicely.”
According to Mueller’s report, Rosenstein left the meeting and told others his reasons for replacing Comey were not the same as Trump’s. The next day, he turned in a memorandum saying the FBI was “unlikely to regain public and congressional trust” with an unrepentant Comey at the helm. Though the memo did not mention Russia, it offered Trump some political cover.
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