Rosenstein plans to leave Justice Dept. shortly after Barr confirmed

[upsideguy]

Oh please!!! You make it sound like Mueller was appointed to investigate Mabaforts taxes or Flynn's registration status as a foreign lobbyist. We all know the purpose of his appt. was to find proof of Trump and Russian "coordination" he collusion in the 2016 election.

I presented his actual charter. All I presented was the language from that charter. Them's the facts. Mueller was hired by the United States Department of Justice, by a Republican appointed by a Republican president. His actual charter, which I quoted and linked, is what clear. No where in his charter does it say that his job was to find proof that Trump colluded with Russia.

If you believe Mueller has a different charter, please, show us. Your "impressions" are not an argument.

The Mueller investigation, as many broad corruption investigations, morphed into other things because Trump chose to surround himself with so many corrupt individuals. We do know, at this point, that Trump is either corrupt himself OR a exceptionally poor manager and judge of people. He is either a crook or incompetent. At this point, the smart money is on crook.

 

[Athanasius68]

I presented his actual charter. All I presented was the language from that charter. Them's the facts. Mueller was hired by the United States Department of Justice, by a Republican appointed by a Republican president. His actual charter, which I quoted and linked, is what clear. No where in his charter does it say that his job was to find proof that Trump colluded with Russia.

If you believe Mueller has a different charter, please, show us. Your "impressions" are not an argument.

The Mueller investigation, as many broad corruption investigations, morphed into other things because Trump chose to surround himself with so many corrupt individuals. We do know, at this point, that Trump is either corrupt himself OR a exceptionally poor manager and judge of people. He is either a crook or incompetent. At this point, the smart money is on crook.

It says it flat out the objective was to find "coordination" between the campaign and Russia. That's the central charge; the reason for his appointment. That all he has been finding and prosecuting is the other stuff which has nothing to do with that objective is not insignificant.

 

[SLC]

Senator Lindsey Graham has already put the word out that Barr has assured him that if confirmed he will allow Mueller to finish his investigation. Graham will also be reintroducing a bill he is cosponsoring with Senators. Thom Tillis, Cory Booker, and Chris Coons to protect Mueller this week. So if the the White House has any thoughts about messing with Mueller's investigation they better think twice because the Senate Judiciary Committee is clearly signaling that would be a political bridge too far. Also Rosenstein isn't stopping Horowitz from doing anything.

Link?

 

[SLC]

It would also be best for the Trump Administration for Whitaker to be gone before the Democrats can subpoena him to appear to testify before the House as that would almost be sure to unfold in a very embarrassing manner for them.

Another tin foil hat moment for you?

 

[SLC]

The DOJ is stalling.

About what? Link?

 

[SLC]

I suspect Rosenstein is just getting out before Barr can fire him and damage his value on the job market it’s time to cash in on that government experience in his resume. I doubt he would have lasted long after Barr gets confirmed.

 

[RAMOSS]

Regurgitating my post from the other thread:

The legal professionals I follow on Twitter are more or less split down the middle about whether Rosenstein's departure heralds something positive or something really bad.

This is why the AG maintaining political independence of the White House has been a tradition: the people need to trust that the AG isn't essentially the President's personal lawyer and bag man, and in lieu of Barr's statements we have no reason to feel confident about how this is going to pan out.

Renato Mariotti: "Let’s hope this means Rosenstein believes that Mueller’s work is largely done and can no longer be derailed."

Neal Katyal: "The Special Counsel regulations, which Mueller is appointed under, put Rosenstein in charge of supervising/controlling the investig. (I drafted those regs as a young pup at DOJ). By all accounts Rosenstein has done a great job. I fear Barr won’t, given his ridiculous memo. Danger."

Joyce Alene: "With Rosenstein leaving & a 53 vote GOP majority in the Senate, Trump now gets to install the two top leaders at DOJ who will oversee the Mueller investigation & the US Attorneys’ offices. Rosenstein’s announced departure underscores the need for the Senate to consider the Barr nomination carefully & that may have contributed to the timing of his announcement."

Asha Rangappa: "I don't think there is much that anyone can do to stop it including a new Attorney General."

Not a ton of optimism there. Asha's tweet, at best, merely suggests that Barr couldn't stop the investigation even if he wanted to, which is a message of personal hopefulness rather than any certainty that the DOJ is operating without political influence from the White House, which is itself a crisis.

I also think that the tradition in the Justice Department of being independent should be considered in the mix. And, there is Barr's refusal to be Trump's lawyer in the White House, which ,despite his opinion on the investigation shows an independence from Trump. There is that, and the example of John Dean. If after looking at the evidence, Barr would have to consider 'Do I want to risk obstruction of Justice and jail time to protect Trump, when this report has this information in it? (Depending of course, on the information presented).

I am sure the obstruction of Justice charges and jail time for John Dean is a very powerful motivator for any AG at this time of the investigation. It's not like the efforts of Mueller have come up empty handed when it comes to indictments, guilty pleas and convictions

 

[tres borrachos]

Oh please!!! You make it sound like Mueller was appointed to investigate Mabaforts taxes or Flynn's registration status as a foreign lobbyist. We all know the purpose of his appt. was to find proof of Trump and Russian "coordination" he collusion in the 2016 election.

I'll bet you were screaming your head off when Ken Starr was appointed to find crimes in the Whitewater real estate investments by the Clintons and ended up with only a lie about an affair and a semen stained dress.

 

[Cardinal]

I also think that the tradition in the Justice Department of being independent should be considered in the mix. And, there is Barr's refusal to be Trump's lawyer in the White House, which ,despite his opinion on the investigation shows an independence from Trump. There is that, and the example of John Dean. If after looking at the evidence, Barr would have to consider 'Do I want to risk obstruction of Justice and jail time to protect Trump, when this report has this information in it? (Depending of course, on the information presented).

I am sure the obstruction of Justice charges and jail time for John Dean is a very powerful motivator for any AG at this time of the investigation. It's not like the efforts of Mueller have come up empty handed when it comes to indictments, guilty pleas and convictions

Refusing actually isn't good enough. Traditionally, even that would be enough to be recuse himself from overseeing an investigation into Trump.

In any case, I've seen conflicting news on this point:

WASHINGTON — Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who had been overseeing the special counsel investigation, plans to step down after Robert Mueller finishes his work, according to administration officials familiar with his thinking.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/ju...department-after-new-attorney-general-n956571

This is confusing on so many levels:

1)The original report has Rosenstein stepping down after Barr is confirmed.
2)Whitaker is acting AG now. He has refused to recuse himself, which would mean he's overseeing the SC investigation, so what does Rosenstein stepping down have to do with Mueller completing his investigation? Or is Rosenstein still overseeing the investigation?
3)If Barr takes over and, presumably, doesn't recuse himself, what does Rosenstein stepping down have to do with Mueller completing his investigation? After Barr is confirmed, what place does Rosenstein have with regard to the investigation?

This is completely dysfunctional and demonstrates a complete breakdown between the traditional wall between the White House and the DOJ, as well as the element of trust that the American public is entitled to with regard to the DOJ.

What the hell is going on at the DOJ?