4/26/2019

ATTORNEY GENERAL/JAMES COMEY//MEDIA/OBAMA/ROBERT MUELLER/RUSSIA INVESTIGATION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The deputy attorney general, Rod J. Rosenstein, attacked the Obama administration, former law enforcement officials, the press and his own critics in a fiery speech on Thursday [4-25-19] night that he used to defend his handling of the Russia investigation. Mr. Rosenstein, who appointed the special counsel to take over the inquiry after President Trump fired James B. Comey as F.B.I. director in May 2017, sought to separate himself from the consequential decisions made about the inquiry before he oversaw it. He blamed the previous administration for doing too little to publicize Russia’s campaign to sabotage the 2016 election while it was underway, and he called out the F.B.I. and Congress for leaks about the case…He left unmentioned that Republican congressional leaders urged former President Barack Obama to keep quiet about the Kremlin’s operation during the presidential race.”

Katie Benner, “Rosenstein Assails Obama Administration, Comey and Journalists in Defending Handling of Russia Inquiry,” The New York Times online, April 26, 2019