Is Rod Rosenstein the hero of the investigation of Russia? Or the bad guy?

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And when you start dipping into Rosenstein's record since you arrived at the DAG post, the contradictions emerge immediately. Consider:

* Rosenstein appointed former FBI advisor, Robert Mueller, as a special advocate and protected the investigation, thus allowing Mueller to investigate to his satisfaction, despite numerous attempts (public and private) to end the investigation of President Donald Trump or reduce it.

* Rosenstein wrote a memo – at Trump's request – outlining why FBI director James Comey should be removed from office due to his repeated disregard for the chain of command and DOJ practices during email from Hillary Clinton. investigation at the 2016 election. (Trump undermined the assertion of his own White House that Rosenstein's note had been the trigger for the dismissal of Comey when he had told NBC's Lester Holt that he was thinking about the investigation of Russia when he chose to dismiss Comey.)

On the day of the publication of the Mueller Report to Congress and the public, Rosenstein stood alongside Attorney General William Barr, tacitly asserting his solidarity with Barr's resolutely pro-Trump speech on the report. (The press conference was held 90 minutes prior to the release of the report.) At this press conference, Barr made it clear that the decision not to accuse Trump of obstruction as part of the investigation was a joint decision by him and Rosenstein.

Even Trump – the king of the "you-with-me-or-against-me" policy – never seemed to totally decide whether Rosenstein was with him or not.

In April 2018,Trump tweeted this – citing Rosenstein's decision to sign a FISA warrant to monitor Carter Page in 2016:

"A big part of the problems with Russia is due to the" Fake & Corrupt Russia Investigation "investigation, led by all the Democratic loyalists or people who have worked for Obama.Mueller is the most confrontational of all (at the Except for Rosenstein who signed the letter FISA & Comey.) No collusion, so they go crazy! "

But in August of last year, Trump seemed to have taken a decisive step by telling the Wall Street Journal that Rosenstein and him had a "fantastic" relationship.

By the beginning of 2019, things had deteriorated further – Trump was generally expecting Rosenstein to be fired following reports on the thread and the 25th Amendment talks.

"Wow, so many lies now dishonored by FBI Acting Director Andrew McCabe" Trump tweeted in February. "He was fired for lying, and now his story is even more disturbing." He and Rod Rosenstein, who has been hired by Jeff Sessions (another beauty), appear to have planned an act very illegal and were caught. "
Rosenstein, however, has never been dismissed and, in all respects, ends his term with the good will of the President. It may be due to the fact that Rosenstein pleaded with Trump to keep him in office, saying to the President: "I give the investigation all credibility. ;plane."
And yet, even with one foot in the door, it's not easy to put Rosenstein in a simple box. Yes, as the Washington Post reported over the weekend, Rosenstein seemed to convince Trump that it was the president's best bet to ensure the end of the Mueller report – and in a way that is credible to the public. But Rosenstein also made this disturbing comment in a speech last week:

"The bottom line is that there was overwhelming evidence that Russian agents had hacked into American computers and defrauded US citizens, and this was only the visible part of Russia's overall strategy." aimed at influencing elections, promoting social discord and undermining America ".

Using phrases such as "only the tip of the iceberg" would seem to suggest that Rosenstein believed that there were many more things to be considered by Congress, a prospect that Trump can not be happy about.

Rosenstein, both in the moment and in retrospect, is very hard to pin down. Without him, there is a very good chance that the Mueller probe never starts and / or never happens to complete all its work. At the same time. Rosenstein lent credibility to Barr's conclusion that not only did the DOJ render a decision on the possible blockage of Trump, but also concluded that this was not the case of the President.

Rosenstein's truth is that he was in a position – at the center of a national (and international) controversy – for which he was simply not prepared. (In his defense, no one on earth would have prepared for this assault.) As a result, he blurred between his loyalty to the Department of Justice (and his long-standing practices) and a president who appeared to be to know nothing. No need to break all the precedents there is.

Taken between these two rivalries, Rosenstein often hesitated between the two, sometimes daily or weekly. As a result, there is enough evidence to call the hero or villain of all this production. The true truth lies somewhere between all these games of reproach partisans. Rosenstein was a human being placed in an impossible place. He reacted accordingly.

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