Deputy Attorney General: Special counsel Mueller needs permission to expand Russia investigation

Business Insider ^ | 8/6/17 | Maxwell Tani & Natasha Bertrand

[Lockbox]

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said on Sunday that the special counsel investigating Russia's interference in the 2016 election needs permission from the Department of Justice to expand his investigation if he finds evidence of an unrelated crime.

In an interview with Fox News Sunday, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation of Russia's role in the 2016 campaign and President Donald Trump's campaign's potential ties to Russia was "not a fishing expedition."

"If he finds evidence of a crime that is within the scope of what Director Mueller and I have agreed is the appropriate scope of this investigation, then he can," Rosenstein said. "If it's something outside that scope he needs to come to the acting attorney general, at this time me, for permission to expand his investigation."

[JohnyBoy]

>He did his job, along with Comey and the MSM-Democrats. Endo of story. Blithering idiot Jeff Sessions just stood there and quivered while it all went down, which was probably what he was assigned to do also.

Worse Sessions put Rosenstein in charge of the leakers investigation too. No doubt that’s going to go no where.

[Cboldt]

Rosenstein was nominated on February 1. His nomination held in committee until April 3 (Grassley relents on Rosenstein nomination), confirmation held up for weeks by a combination of unanimous consent and DEM filibuster.

Some Democrats have vowed to use all tactics to slow down Rosenstein's confirmation unless he promised to appoint a special prosecutor to oversee the federal investigation into Russia's meddling in the 2016 campaign and potential collusion between the Trump campaign and Moscow.

Grassley relents on Rosenstein nomination - March 24 - Politico

Yates, who Rosenstein replaced as DAG, was fired January 30, two days before Rosenstein was nominated.

The Rosenstein nomination looks to be part of filling out in the top slots at DoJ.

The President today announced his intent to nominate Rod J. Rosenstein of Maryland to be Deputy Attorney General; Rachel L. Brand of Iowa, to be Associate Attorney General and Steven Andrew Engel of the District of Columbia, to be an Assistant Attorney General.

Trump Announces Intent to Nominate Senior Justice Department Officials - Jan 31

I see a methodical housecleaning, with most of the moves/firings being justified by some sort of insubordination or failure to protect an institution. Yates was fired for not defending Trump's "travel ban." Comey was fired for usurping the prosecutor's role.

Comey's firing was delayed by the delay in confirming Rosenstein. FBI Director reports to DAG. All moves designed to put distance between the housecleaning and accusations of "revenge politics."

This article sheds some light on what may have attracted Sessions to Rosenstein. I doubt Trump knew much of Rosenstein. At the same time, I suspect at least a draft of a "housecleaning plan" existed, and these positions are at a level that would have been reviewed and vetted by the transition team.

Trump to nominate Rod Rosenstein deputy attorney general - Jan 31

Finally, a repeat of the March 24 call for SC. Suggestions and hints for an SC go back to January 10, although the accusation against the Trump campaign was not made in public until Comey's March 20 testimony. By that time, Congress had been briefed in detail about who in the Trump campaign was under investigation, and for what.

"They fired Sally Yates. They fired Preet Bharara. And they fired James Comey, the very man leading he investigation. This does not seem to be a coincidence," Schumer said shortly after the announcement [firing Comey - May 9 - was the last event announced, of those three], calling for a special independent prosecutor into the Trump campaign's ties to the Kremlin.

"Any person who he appoints to lead the Russian investigation will be concerned that he or she will meet the same fate as Director Comey," he said.

Preet Bharara, Sally Yates and James Comey: Fired while investigating Donald Trump - May 10

[Cboldt]

-- Trump had almost eight weeks to do a little more homework on Rosenstein and perhaps withdraw his nomination if he was really all that bothered about Sessions' recusal. --

BTW, I agree with that too. My previous was just to summarize what preceded the April 25 appointment of Rosenstein.

I think the "conventional wisdom" is all wrong. I've said before that SC may well be a deliberate creation of Trump. Better if "the system" gets revenge on Comey, Hillary, etc. than if it appears Trump has a personal vendetta.

I'm not suggesting that Mueller is there to go after Comey or Hillary either. Just that Team Trump (plenty of brains in there) is not as naive as the public is.

[cynwoody]

My, what a promising young man!

[Cboldt]

Pre-inauguration buzz ...

U.S. attorney in Baltimore is Trump's pick to be deputy attorney general
WaPo - Sari Horwitz and Ellen Nakashima - January 14

Rosenstein, 52, is the sole holdover U.S. attorney from the George W. Bush administration who is still in office. ...

... His nomination was first reported by CNN and confirmed by the member of President-elect Donald Trump's transition team, speaking on the condition of anonymity because the matter has not been officially announced.

A Deep Dive Into The Department Of Justice Transition
Above the Law - David Lat - January 13

Rosenstein is a graduate of U. Penn. (Wharton) and Harvard Law School (where he was a member of the school's Federalist Society chapter). ...

President Bush's nomination of him to the Fourth Circuit in 2007 didn't work out as well, but more for political reasons than for anything having to do with Rosenstein ...

Couple of remarks. "Federalist Society" is a good sign, as far as I am concerned. And interesting he was nominated to be an appellate court judge. I did not know that.

Mr. Lat had heads up on this nomination weeks before he composed the article. Interesting insight into the transition process, who the movers and shakers there, are, their personal motivations, etc.

I'm of a mind that Trump didn't know much if anything at all about Rosenstein.

Trump expected to tap longtime federal prosecutor for key DOJ post
CNN - Evan Perez and Sara Murray - January 13

Trump has allowed his Cabinet nominees to play a major role in helping fill top positions in their agencies, a strategy past administrations haven't always followed.

Sessions, a former US attorney in Alabama, helped choose Rosenstein, transition officials say, in part because of his deep ties to the Justice Department.

[mad_as_he$$]

Dream on. Everyone involved with Mueller wants Trump gone.

[Candor7]

If it’s something outside that scope he needs to come to the acting attorney general, at this time me, for permission to expand his investigation.”>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Momre blivovating, paying lip service to due process.

The dems want at the Trump families financial records and their Trump business empire so they can dismantle and confiscate it.

Simple.

Rosensein should be laterally promoted, and replaced by Rudy Giuliani.

[Cheerio]

Shut it down until a crime is identified. This is like the IRS calling in every taxpayer and saying "Let's go over the deductions you took this year (and see what we think is not allowed)".

Notwithstanding the IRS, when in America did you become guilty until proven innocent???? AND THE PRESIDENT IS ACCUSED OF THIS?????? OUTRAGEOUS IS WAY TO MILD OF A TERM.

[Cheerio]

[b4its2late]

These aholes have too much power.

[Right_in_Virginia]

Wouldn’t permission for an investigation into possible “crimes” outside the Russian investigation need to come from the Attorney General?

[Raycpa]

"If he finds evidence of a crime

So he confirms that Mueller can look for "any crimes". So how is that limiting the investigation and how is that not a fishing expedition?

I can fish past my limit but I must turn anything I catch over to the game warden?

[Avalon Memories]

Extremely well said and by far the best summation of the problems with this phony investigation that I have seen. I only wish the bobbleheads in Congress, elsewhere in the Republican party, and on TV would daily repeat exactly what you said. Instead we get silence and piling on from congress critters, lies from the media, and comparatively weak push back from other Republican/conservative voices.

[Avalon Memories]

The pardons thing is a political nightmare because the average person thinks more or less simplistically along these lines: "Pardon? Can't be pardoned if you did nothing wrong."

Pardons would have the effect of convicting Trump of "collusion" in the general public's mind. The DC swamp creatures have pretty much boxed Trump in with this hoax and he has little room to maneuver legally or in terms of public relations. And they did it so fast that a smarter general public would be both outraged and terrified, because a slow-motion coup is in progress. If it succeeds, we will effectively have a dictatorship of the DC elite and their paymasters.

[Architect of Avalon]

A key rule of war is minimize your opponent’s ability to hurt you.

[af_vet_1981]

where has he been for the last several months?

Working and not leaking

[Trump_vs_Evil_Witch]

“Trump should FIRE Rosenstein and name Jeanine Pirro as the new Deputy AG. There will be no nonsense or games with her.”

---

Bingo, .....why didn’t President Trump hire more of his supporters from day one? If Rosenstein were loyal to the President, Andrew McCabe would no longer be with the FBI.

Now, he has the likes this guy (who empowered Mueller to pave the way for impeachment) & McMaster purging the NSC while conspiring with the swamp to pull off a Coup de Etat at the earliest opportunity...

...FIRE THEM

[Red in Blue PA]

Well said and Amen.

This is all BS and any Republican not fighting against it is the enemy. Make no mistake about it.

[Varsity Flight]

Yes, this, and they’re not fighting against the body mortgage care vote shows the same.