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Rosenstein expected to leave job
Rosenstein expected to exit after new AG confirmed by Senate
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein is expected to step down after a new Justice Dept. head is seated.
WASHINGTON — Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, the most visible Justice Department protector of special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation and a frequent target of President Donald Trump’s wrath, is expected to leave his position soon after Trump’s nominee for attorney general is confirmed.
The departure creates uncertainty about the oversight of Mueller’s team as it enters what may be its final months of work. But the attorney general nominee, William Barr, moved quickly Wednesday to quell concerns that his arrival could endanger the probe, telling lawmakers during Capitol Hill visits ahead of his confirmation hearing that he has a high opinion of Mueller.
“He had absolutely no indication he was going to tell Bob Mueller what to do or how to do it,” said Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, the incoming chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which will question Barr next Tuesday.
If confirmed by the GOPled Senate, Barr could be in place at the Justice Department by February. Rosenstein is expected to leave his position soon after that, though he is not being forced out, said a person familiar with the plans who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The departure is not surprising given that Rosenstein has been deputy for almost two years. It is common for new attorneys general to have their own deputies and Barr has told people close to him that he wanted his own No. 2 as part of taking the attorney general job.
It was unclear who might replace Rosenstein. The deputy position requires Senate confirmation. It was also not clear whether Rosenstein’s top deputy, Edward O’Callaghan, who has a prominent role overseeing Mueller’s investigation, might remain in his role.
Rosenstein’s departure is noteworthy given his appointment of Mueller and close supervision of his work. He’s also endured a tenuous relationship with Trump, who has repeatedly decried Rosenstein’s decision to appoint Mueller, and with congressional Republicans who accused him of withholding documents from them and not investigating aggressively enough what they contend was political bias within the FBI.
In September, Rosenstein went to the White House expecting to be fired after news reports that he had discussed secretly recording Trump and invoking a constitutional amendment to remove Trump as unfit for office. He was ultimately allowed to stay on after private conversations with Trump and John Kelly, then chief of staff.
Trump also shared a photo on Twitter in November showing Rosenstein and others criticized by the president behind bars, calling for them to be tried for “treason.”
Mueller is investigating Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election and contacts with the Trump campaign. Rosenstein and his chief deputy have continued to maintain day-to-day oversight over the probe, a senior Justice Department official told reporters last month.
Barr would take over control of the investigation, assuming the same final say over major investigative steps that acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker has had since former Attorney General Jeff Sessions was ousted in November.
Democrats have been wary of Whitaker, who declined to recuse himself from overseeing the investigation.
The White House cast Rosenstein’s departure as his choice.
Spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Rosenstein had always planned to stay two years and wants to help with the transition to a new attorney general.
“I don’t think there’s any willingness by the president or the White House to push him out,” Sanders told Fox News.
Rosenstein appointed Mueller as special counsel in May 2017 to investigate potential coordination between Russia and the Trump campaign to sway the 2016 election. The appointment followed the recusal of Sessions because of his work on the Trump campaign and Trump’s firing of former FBI Director James Comey.
Barr served as attorney general from 1991 to 1993.
Barr has criticized the Mueller investigation, including an unsolicited memo he sent the Justice Department last year critiquing Mueller’s investigation into whether the president had sought to obstruct justice by firing Comey.
Rosenstein in December said Mueller’s investigation would be “handled appropriately” no matter who is overseeing it.