He also gave an even bigger clue when the Department of Justice issued that strange press release (with Rosenstein listed as the official who authorized its release) back in mid-June that gave the following warning:
Americans should exercise caution before accepting as true any stories attributed to anonymous 'officials,' particularly when they do not identify the country -- let alone the branch of government -- with which the alleged sources supposedly are affiliated.
I immediately saw that as a message that was intended to tell the American public that most of the media reports they were hearing about the Mueller investigation were complete bullsh!t.
He hasn't seen the backlash from that yet. Trump does not have to allow Mueller to go outside his jurisdiction (which is a totally different question from conflict management) without making a big public noise about it.
If Rosenstein has somehow assured Trump's lawyers that Mueller is not investigating Manfort's 2008 and 2013 real estate deals, and whatever other specific avenues have been described in the press, maybe fine. But I think the PUBLIC INTEREST and the INTEGRITY OF THE DOJ is better served if Rosenstein assures the public of that.
And Rosenstien's dodge, if not trolling the press or a mis-statement, needs to be called out. Sessions did not apply that "we'll deal with after the results" standard, and Mueller can't either. Mueller and his team are under the same conflict regulation that bound Sessions.
I do recall Rosenstin's odd press release that amounted to don't believe the press. It served it's purpose. A reference to that will not give the public any comfort that Mueller is following the regulations and is staying within his jurisdiction.
Just filling out this thread with the record on that. Rosentein's June 15 press release makes specific references that appear to associate with a particular June 14 WaPo report that Mueller was investigating Trump for obstruction of justice.
That press release can't be meant to apply to news reports of Mueller's recently reported mission creep.
Not to say the mission creep news reports are non-fiction, but Trump surrogates are treating them as plausible.
Muller investigators are already examining the financial dealings of Mr. Trump and his associates, not limiting themselves to possible collusion with Russia in the 2016 election. Mr. Trump's business ties to Russians go back decades.
Sekulow said in an interview Thursday that the president and his legal team are intent on making sure Mueller stays within the boundaries of his assignment as special counsel. He said they will complain directly to Mueller if necessary."The fact is that the president is concerned about conflicts that exist within the special counsel's office and any changes in the scope of the investigation," Sekulow said. "The scope is going to have to stay within his mandate. If there's drifting, we're going to object."
Sekulow cited Bloomberg News reports that Mueller is scrutinizing some of Trump's business dealings, including with a Russian oligarch who purchased a Palm Beach mansion from Trump for $95 million in 2008.
"They're talking about real estate transactions in Palm Beach several years ago," Sekulow said. "In our view, this is far outside the scope of a legitimate investigation."