Rod Rosenstein: ”We enforce the law without fear or favor because credible evidence is not partisan”


US Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein has resigned, after months of tension within the Trump Administration and following the publication of the Mueller Report on Trump-Russia links.

Rosenstein formally oversaw Robert Mueller’s inquiry, appointing the Special Counsel after Donald Trump fired FBI Director James Comey in May 2017. He had expressed his intention to step down once Mueller concluded.

In his resignation letter to Trump, Rosenstein covers the strained relationship with thanks for the “courtesy and humor” Trump had shown in their conversations. But the letter can be read as a last jab at Trump and his administration for their constant badgering of Justice Department officials:

The Department bears a special responsibility to avoid partisanship. Political considerations may include policy choices, but neutral principles must drive decisions about individual cases.

Throughout Mueller’s investigation, Rosenstein was a target for Trump and his allies. Trump even retweeted a photo that portrayed Rosenstein behind bars for treason.

The tension was compounded by claims about the extent of Rosenstein’s uncertainty over the temperamental Trump. One vivid story was that, in the wake of Comey’s firing, the Deputy Attorney General and others considered invoking the 25th Amendment to declare Trump unfit, with Rosenstein offering to wear a wire to record conversations

Speculation suggested Rosenstein would depart in March. Hestayed to oversee the release of Mueller’s findings, but he was eclipsed by newly-appointed Attorney General William Barr, who sought to protect Trump and his inner circle from any political and legal consequences.

Deputy Secretary of Transportation Jeffrey Rosen has been named by Trump as Rosenstein’s replacement, subject to confirmation by the Senate.

Read Rosenstein’s resignation letter