Rosenstein slams Obama administration for choosing ‘not to publicize full story’ of Russia hacking
Rosenstein, who was speaking in New York at the Public Servants Dinner of the Armenian Bar Association, defended his handling of the probe and criticized former officials in the process. He also called out former FBI Director James Comey for alerting Congress about the investigation into Russian collusion at the height of the 2016 presidential campaign.
“The FBI disclosed classified evidence about the investigation to ranking legislators and their staffers,” he said. “Someone selectively leaked details to the news media. The FBI director [Comey] announced at a congressional hearing that there was a counterintelligence investigation that might result in criminal charges. Then the former FBI director alleged that the president pressured him to close the investigation, and the president denied that the conversation occurred.
"So that happened,” he joked.
The Obama administration has been criticized for its handling of the Russian interference. Trump has blamed Obama for not acting quickly enough to stem Russia’s influence during the campaign.
Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein gave a DOJ speech late yesterday and in it he kinda threw Obama and Comey under the bus, relating to the Russia shenanigans from back in 2016.
Rod Rosenstein, in a speech in NYC tonight: https://t.co/BNwhyLgail pic.twitter.com/UXIo0zcYtc— Byron York (@ByronYork) April 26, 2019
In case you can’t read that, here’s what it says:
The rule of law is our most important principle. Patriots must always defend the rule of law. Even when it is not in their personal interest, it is always in the national interest. If you find yourself asking, “What will this decision mean for me?” then you probably are not complying with your oath of office.At my confirmation hearing in March 2017, a Republican Senator asked me to make a commitment. He said: “You’re going to be in charge of this [Russia] investigation. I want you to look me in the eye and tell me that you’ll do it right, that you’ll take it to its conclusion and you’ll report [your results] to the American people.”I did pledge to do it right and take it to the appropriate conclusion. I did not promise to report all results to the public, because grand jury investigations are ex parte proceedings. It is not our job to render conclusive factual findings. We just decide whether it is appropriate to file criminal charges.Some critical decisions about the Russia investigation were made before I got there. The previous Administration chose not to publicize the full story about Russian computer hackers and social media trolls, and how they relate to a broader strategy to undermine America. The FBI disclosed classified evidence about the investigation to ranking legislators and their staffers. Someone selectively leaked details to the news media. The FBI Director announced at a congressional hearing that there was a counterintelligence investigation that might result in criminal charges. Then the former FBI Director alleged that the President pressured him to close the investigation, and the President denied that the conversation occurred.So that happened.
Conservatives on Twitter were wondering why Rosenstein can speak freely about this in speeches but not testify before congress:
Rosenstein can hold press conferences and give speeches, but can’t manage to testify before Congress about his plan, along with two cabinet members, to depose the president using the 25th Amendment or his comments about wearing a wire against Trump. https://t.co/7ebs9D7Lvd— Sean Davis (@seanmdav) April 26, 2019
Others were just shocked by his comments:Why is the outgoing Deputy Attorney General speaking freely in every forum except Congress? https://t.co/xnlSfZL2rn— Benjamin Weingarten (@bhweingarten) April 26, 2019
Whoa. https://t.co/pY8apYMgqk— Brit Hume (@brithume) April 26, 2019
Rosenstein blaming Obama. Interesting. https://t.co/9qOXGbG5HL— Dave Johnson (@dcjohnson) April 26, 2019
Ed Morrissey wrote this morning that “one gets the impression from this passage that [Rosenstein] will have much more to say about the actions and inactions that took place before Trump ever got to the White House.”
Indeed this could get very interesting.
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