ATTORNEY GENERAL/JUSTICE DEPARTMENT/RUSSIA INVESTIGATION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Former Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who was ousted after President Donald Trump spent more than a year complaining about the Russia probe, on Thursday [5-9-19] praised Rod Rosenstein’s handling of that investigation at a farewell ceremony for his former deputy. Rosenstein is leaving the Justice Department in the wake of the 22-month special counsel probe, which dominated much of his unusually high-profile tenure as DOJ’s No. 2…Rosenstein handed off special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation earlier this year when Attorney General William Barr took over as Sessions’ replacement. In a controversial four-page memo to Congress after Mueller’s probe concluded, Barr said he and Rosenstein concluded the evidence uncovered during the investigation was not enough to pursue obstruction of justice charges against the president. Barr, who has borne the brunt of the fallout related to that decision, also praised Rosenstein on Thursday. The attorney general reflected on his deputy’s career, recalling that Rosenstein worked under Mueller when the latter was assistant attorney general.”
–Katie Galioto, “Sessions sends off Rosenstein: He did ‘what he thought was best for this country’,” Politico, May 9, 2019 4:49 pm