Rod Rosenstein

Rod Rosenstein
Official portrait, 2019
37th United States Deputy Attorney General
In office
April 26, 2017 – May 11, 2019
PresidentDonald Trump
Preceded bySally Yates
Succeeded byJeffrey A. Rosen
United States Attorney for the District of Maryland
In office
July 12, 2005 – April 26, 2017
PresidentGeorge W. Bush
Barack Obama
Donald Trump
Preceded byThomas M. DiBiagio
Succeeded byRobert K. Hur
Personal details
Born
Rod Jay Rosenstein

(1965-01-13) January 13, 1965 (age 59)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Political partyRepublican[1]
SpouseLisa Barsoomian
Children2
RelativesNancy Messonnier (sister)
EducationUniversity of Pennsylvania (BS)
Harvard University (JD)
Signature

Rod Jay Rosenstein (/ˈrzənˌstn/;[2] born January 13, 1965) is an American attorney who served as the 37th United States deputy attorney general from April 2017 until May 2019. Prior to his appointment, he served as a United States attorney for the District of Maryland.[3] At the time of his confirmation as deputy attorney general in April 2017, he was the longest-serving U.S. attorney.[4] Rosenstein had also been nominated to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in 2007, but his nomination was never considered by the U.S. Senate.[1]

President Donald Trump nominated Rosenstein to serve as Deputy Attorney General on February 1, 2017. Rosenstein was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on April 25, 2017. In May 2017, at Trump's behest,[5] he authored a memo that Trump then cited as the basis for his decision to dismiss FBI Director James Comey.[6][5]

In May 2018, Rosenstein reportedly told the five U.S. Attorneys in districts along the border with Mexico that, where refugees were concerned, they should not "be categorically declining immigration prosecutions of adults in family units because of the age of a child." The directive, issued as part of the Trump administration family separation policy, led to the separation of thousands of small children from their parents, many of whom were seeking asylum in the United States after fleeing violence in Central America.[7]

Following the recusal of Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Comey's dismissal, Rosenstein appointed Robert Mueller as special counsel to investigate the myriad links between Trump associates and Russian officials and spies and related matters.[8] Rosenstein previously assumed authority over the parallel FBI probe after Sessions recused himself over misleading remarks he made to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary during his confirmation process. The New York Times reported Rosenstein prevented the FBI and Mueller from investigating Trump's personal and financial dealings in Russia.[9] On November 7, 2018, Trump transferred this oversight to acting US Attorney General Matthew Whitaker.[10][11][12][13]

Rosenstein submitted his resignation as deputy attorney general on April 29, 2019, which took effect on May 11, 2019.[14] Rosenstein joined the law firm King & Spalding's D.C. office as a partner on the "Special Matters and Government Investigations" team in January 2020.[15]

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference ncna730126 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Deputy Attorney General and Associate Attorney General Nominations (video broadcast). C-SPAN. March 7, 2017. Event occurs at 33:32. Archived from the original on February 10, 2018.
  3. ^ "5 things to know about Rod Rosenstein, who helped get Comey fired". The Times of Israel. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
  4. ^ Fritze, John (April 24, 2017). "Rosenstein poised for confirmation as deputy attorney general". Baltimore Sun. Archived from the original on April 25, 2017. Retrieved April 25, 2017.
  5. ^ a b "Rod Rosenstein's letter recommending Comey be fired". bbc.com. May 10, 2017. Archived from the original on May 10, 2017.
  6. ^ Keith, Tamara (April 26, 2017). "Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein Played Key Role In Comey's Firing". NPR.org. Archived from the original on May 11, 2017. Retrieved June 17, 2023.
  7. ^ Shear, Michael D. (October 6, 2020). "'We Need to Take Away Children,' No Matter How Young, Justice Dept. Officials Said". The New York Times.
  8. ^ Rosenstein, Rod (May 17, 2017). "Rod Rosenstein's Letter Appointing Mueller Special Counsel". The New York Times. Retrieved January 11, 2017.
  9. ^ Schmidt, Michael S. (August 30, 2020). "Justice Dept. Never Fully Examined Trump's Ties to Russia, Ex-Officials Say". The New York Times.
  10. ^ Breuninger, Kevin (November 7, 2018). "Trump's new acting attorney general has criticized the Mueller probe. Now he will oversee it". CNBC.com.
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference voxnov7 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ "Rod Rosenstein is no longer in charge of the Mueller probe". The Week. November 7, 2018.
  13. ^ Thomsen, Jacqueline (November 7, 2018). "Rosenstein goes to White House for 'preplanned' meeting after Sessions departure". The Hill.
  14. ^ Gurman, Sadie (April 29, 2019). "Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein resigns, effective May 11". MarketWatch. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
  15. ^ "Former U.S. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein Joins King & Spalding as a Partner in Washington, D.C." kslaw.com. January 8, 2020. Retrieved January 10, 2020.

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