Rosenstein-McCabe feud dates back to angry standoff in front of Mueller
Source: WaPo
Shortly after Robert S. Mueller III was appointed to investigate possible coordination between President Trumps campaign and the Kremlin, he was drawn into a tense standoff in which Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein and then-acting FBI director Andrew McCabe each urged the other to step aside from the case, according to people familiar with the matter.
At the time of the confrontation in mid-May 2017, tensions were running high at the FBI and Justice Department, and between Rosenstein and McCabe. Trump had just fired James B. Comey as the bureaus director, and almost immediately afterward, FBI officials had opened a case into whether the president had obstructed justice.
Some in the bureau eyed Rosenstein warily, because he had authored a memo that was used by the administration to justify Comeys termination. If the president had obstructed justice, they reasoned, Rosenstein may have played a role in that. Justice Department officials, meanwhile, were concerned that the FBI and McCabe in particular may have acted too hastily to open an investigative file on the president after Comey was fired and that the move could be painted as an act of anger or revenge.
The previously unreported episode involving Mueller, Rosenstein and McCabe which occurred within days of Muellers becoming special counsel underscores the deep suspicion between senior law enforcement officials who were about to embark on a historic, criminal investigation of the president. That mistrust has continued to this day, with defenders of each offering conflicting accounts of exactly what was said and meant in the days surrounding Muellers appointment.
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/rosenstein-mccabe-feud-dates-back-to-angry-standoff-in-front-of-mueller/2018/10/10/8a7e99fe-ccac-11e8-a3e6-44daa3d35ede_story.html
SunSeeker
(51,695 posts)Even though it was correct that Comey acted improperly toward Clinton, Rosenstein knew Trump was looking for a pretense to fire Comey.
deurbano
(2,895 posts)support the (mis)administration's stance on immigration and other crap developments in the Justice Dept.. While he may draw the line at Russian collusion and outright criminal activity, I agree the memo was craven, and I think his extremist political views and partisan history mandate a watchful eye, even as I'm hopeful regarding the Mueller investigation and his role in it. (Hopeful, but wary.)
Here's something about the shared history of Wray, Rosenstein and Kavanaugh:
https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/10/01/kavanaugh-fbi-wray-rosenstein-220810
"...But there is another reason we cannot expect Wray and Rosenstein to buck White House direction of the investigation. To them, Kavanaugh is not merely the target of an FBI investigation. Kavanaugh is a longtime colleague, political ally and perhaps even friend. The three men have known each other for decades, working closely on the shared mission of advancing conservative judicial and policy goals. We simply cannot expect Wray and Rosenstein to block the advancement of their fellow conservative and longtime colleague to the highest court in the land.
Thirty years ago, Wray was two years behind Kavanaugh at Yale College, and followed him to Yale Law School. Famously small and insular, Yale Law Schools reputation is largely liberal but it has an intense, dedicated cadre of conservative professors and students. This conservative group has played an outsized role in conservative judicial circles, as the cradle for the influential Federalist Society back in 1982....
...In the George W. Bush administration, Kavanaugh and Wray went on to be political appointees and colleagues. Wray was a senior aide to the deputy attorney general, and Kavanaugh was in the White House Counsels office, where he would have worked closely with the Justice Department on nominations and other matters. Wray then became assistant attorney general for criminal, where he would often have intersected with the White House Counsels Office.
Rosenstein did not attend Yale Law Schoolhe went to Harvard, alasbut he also joined The Federalist Society there. He served alongside Kavanaugh on Ken Starrs independent counsel team. Together, they joined to investigate Bill and Hillary Clinton and their aides and business associates in what became a virtual cradle for appointments in the Bush 43 and Trump administrations. Each served President George W. Bush, and each was nominated by him to federal circuit judgeships (Kavanaugh advanced after three years of waiting, but Rosenstein did not and was instead appointed to be United States attorney for Maryland.)
Rosenstein and Wray also served together as senior appointees in the George W. Bush Justice Department, and Wray wrote a letter supporting Rosensteins nomination for deputy attorney general in 2017."
SunSeeker
(51,695 posts)lark
(23,155 posts)As long as they don't stab Mueller or us in the back, I don't really care that they don't get along. Just want Rosenstein to publicly release the report and I'll be happy. Don't trust either of them not to hide the information if Mueller gets fired, which is quite likely.
BlueIdaho
(13,582 posts)As it was under J Edgar Hoover.
JI7
(89,264 posts)i agree there are corrupt fbi like the ones from the new york area but i don't think this is about that.