United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein, left, with Maj. David Engel of the Baltimore City Police Department, appear at a news conference Friday, Sept. 29, 2006, in Baltimore. Arms brokers for Tamil Tiger separatists and other customers in Indonesia have been charged with trying to buy surface-to-air missiles and other weapons through undercover agents in Maryland, federal officials said Friday.
- Deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein told The Wall Street Journal the Russia investigation has already revealed a multi-faceted Russian effort to meddle in the 2016 US election.
- Rosenstein added that he has a “solemn” responsibility to oversee and prosecute such cases, and that he is “pleased the president has been supportive of that.”
- President Donald Trump has repeatedly derided the ongoing Russia probe, calling it a politically motivated “witch hunt” and a “hoax.”
- “I believe that our department and our office have been appropriately managing that investigation,” Rosenstein told The Journal, referring to the Russia probe.
- Rosenstein’s comments came after it was reported that he has been pressuring the special counsel Robert Mueller to wrap up the Russia investigation.
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said on Wednesday that the special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation has already revealed an elaborate and widespread effort by the Russians to meddle in the 2016 US election.
Speaking to The Wall Street Journal, Rosenstein said, “I have a solemn responsibility to make sure that cases like that are pursued and prosecuted, and I’m pleased the president has been supportive of that.”
President Donald Trump, whose campaign is at the center of the Russia probe, frequently derides the investigation as a politically motivated “hoax” and a “witch hunt.” To date, he and his Republican allies in Congress have spearheaded several efforts – many of which have been successful – to force the Justice Department to disclose sensitive information about the investigation and who it’s targeting.
In addition to investigating whether members of the Trump campaign colluded with Moscow to tilt the race in his favor, Mueller is also examining whether Trump sought to obstruct justice at various points throughout the inquiry.
Trump has made numerous public and private attempts to exert more influence over the investigation, at one point reportedly wondering why “my guys” at the “Trump Justice Department” weren’t protecting him from scrutiny.
Trump also often gripes about Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ decision to recuse himself from overseeing the investigation last year, after it emerged that he had not been forthcoming during his confirmation hearing about his contacts with Russians during the campaign.
Sessions is widely rumored to be leaving after the November midterm elections, and Trump is expected to clean house at the DOJ then as well.
