Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Right wing turns rage to Trump appointee
the FBI texts as proof of wrongdoing, and Trump tweeted that they “are bombshells!”
Much of the right-wing anger has settled on Rosenstein, a Republican who spent 12 years as U.S. attorney in Baltimore, building a solid, uncontroversial reputation as a by-the-books federal prosecutor who poured resources into combating violent crime.
Appointed by Trump to the No. 2 position in the Justice Department, and confirmed by the Senate, 94-6, Rosenstein took over the Russia probe in March when Sessions stepped aside due to questions about his own meetings with a Russian diplomat during the campaign.
After Trump abruptly fired Comey in May, Rosenstein appointed Mueller as special counsel. Since then, Mueller has filed criminal charges against four former Trump aides; two have pleaded guilty, including Trump’s former national security adviser, Michael Flynn.
Under Justice Department regulations, Rosenstein has control of the Mueller probe. He can set the budget, determine what Mueller can or can’t pursue and, perhaps most important, decide whether to make any final reports public. Rosenstein also is the only official empowered to fire Mueller, and has told Congress he would not follow an order to do so without good cause.
Trump likely would face a firestorm of criticism if he sought to fire Mueller. But firing Rosenstein, Mueller’s boss, could open the way to naming a more compliant deputy attorney general, one who might rein in Mueller’s probe.
Sean Hannity, the Fox News commentator who has been a cheerleader for Trump, has repeatedly called for Rosenstein to resign or be fired. Senate Democrats have warned Trump not to do so, but the president has refused to provide assurances.
Jenny Beth Martin, a co-founder of Tea Party Patriots, said the Rosenstein ad was produced by a spinoff nonprofit group that spent $100,000 on digital placements. The group does not have to disclose its donors; Martin said most of the money came from small donors reached in a mail campaign.
Under Obama, the tea party group crusaded against Obamacare and for lower taxes. With Republicans now in control of the White House and Congress, Martin said the group is targeting what she called a lack of accountability by career officials like Rosenstein.
Asked precisely what Rosenstein has done wrong, she said only that he was slow to provide some requested documents to Congress.
The swirling accusations of bad faith and political bias inside the FBI and Justice Department have angered and bewildered some current and former FBI agents and prosecutors. The say the harsh rhetoric from Trump and his allies is sapping the morale of employees and public respect for the bureau.
“We have really fallen way far down the rabbit hole, that’s for sure,” said Frank Montoya Jr., a former FBI agent who headed counterintelligence operations at the bureau.
“Internally, there’s a lot of people who are freaking upset, and disappointed,” he said. “The president keeps sucker-punching us.”
Former Attorney General Eric Holder, who served from 2009 to 2015 under Obama, said Trump’s complaints and attacks break the traditional wall between the Justice Department and the White House. He said the drumbeat of criticism won’t rattle Mueller but it might make a difference when a jury considers testimony from an FBI agent in an ordinary criminal trial.
FBI Director Christopher Wray, whom Trump chose to replace Comey, has avoided directly confronting Trump. But after the House memo was released, he put out an internal video to FBI employees telling them to stand tough amid the political bickering.
“Talk is cheap,” he said. “The work you do is what will endure.”