Rosenstein arrives on Comey, declares to have broken light lines that one must never cross

Rod Rosenstein on Monday evening discussed former FBI director James Comey in front of the Greater Baltimore Committee (GBC), criticizing Comey 's turn by calling him an "expert of supporters," reiterating that he' s only going out of his way. he deserved to be sacked and criticizing him for trampling "bright lines" should never be crossed. "

Rosenstein formally stepped down as deputy attorney general two days ago. His speech specifically targeted Comey's comments earlier this month, implying that Rosenstein and Attorney General Bill Barr did not have the "inner strength" to "resist the compromises necessary for Mr. Trump's survival" .

Comey also mocked Rosenstein's "character" and suggested that his "soul" had been consumed "in small bites". The former boss of the FBI, who took the habit of assignment many photographs of himself in nature, nostalgically observing trees and roads since his departure from the public service, had attracted media attention in recent months and his memoirs brought him over 2 million dollars.

"The former director is a partisan politician, who sells books and earns speech fees while speculating on the strength of my character and the fate of my immortal soul," Rosenstein said. "It's disappointing." Speculating on souls is not a police job nor a prosecutor. "Generally, we base our opinions on eyewitness testimony."

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Although Rosenstein pointed out that he "did not hate" and even "admired" Comey in the past, he asserted that Hillary Clinton's email survey processing by L & # 39; Former FBI leader in 2016 was a serious professional misconception.

"The most obvious mistake was the director's decision to hold a press conference on an open case, to disclose his recommendation and to discuss the details of the investigation, without the consent of the prosecutors and the attorney general." declared Rosenstein. "Then he chose to send a letter to Congress on the eve of the elections declaring that one of the candidates was under criminal investigation, waiting for it to be immediately made public. "

Comey later stated that he felt compelled to hold the spectacular press conference of July 2016 – in which he stated that no "reasonable attorney" would file a complaint against Clinton, even though he stated that she had been "extremely carefree" in the handling of confidential information – because then – Attorney General Loretta Lynch had compromised the appearance of impartiality of the Ministry of Justice by allowing Bill Clinton to meet her privately on a tarmac at the airport while the investigation was going on.

Rosenstein added, "These actions were not part of the reasonable decisions and they were inconsistent with our goal of communicating to all FBI employees that they must respect the role of the Attorney General, refrain from disclosing information on criminal investigations, avoid denigrating non-accused persons and above all, do not take unnecessary measures that could influence an election ".

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Rosenstein described his memorandum supporting the dismissal of Comey as "reasonable in the circumstances" and stated that he would have provided a more detailed analysis of the "pros and cons" of the dismissal of the FBI director when he " had been asked to make a recommendation before referral "the decision was made. "

But, says Rosenstein, Trump "did not say what reasons to put in my memo". The President has repeatedly said that Comey's refusal to publicly acknowledge – as he had done privately – that Trump was not under investigation ultimately played a role in his dismissal.

Nevertheless, Rosenstein had a note of sympathy for the manner in which Comey had been fired. The former director of the FBI would have learned his fate by television reports.

"If I had been the decision maker, the referral would have been treated very differently, with much more respect and a lot less drama," said Rosenstein, "so I do not blame the former director. to be angry ".

But, in another blow against Comey's deeply personal critics, Rosenstein continued: "My soul and my character are pretty much the same today as it was two years ago. a few hits and I made enemies during my stay in the arena, but I stood up and made a lot of friends.And thanks to them, I think I made the right calls for the things that mattered. "

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The speech at the GBC – a non-profit organization of business leaders that Rosenstein has a reputation for helping to enforce the law, including when he was US Attorney – was his second in three years. This followed Rosenstein's remarks a few hours earlier in the University of Baltimore Law School, citing Special Advocate Robert Mueller and urging graduates to stick to the principles despite the pressures. exterior.

"So that's part of what happened when you awarded me this award for the courage you showed in the administration of your government two years ago," concluded Rosenstein. "I probably did not deserve it at the time, I do not know if I've won it since, but I've done my best, it's nice to be at home." Thank you so much."

Congressional Republicans accused Rosenstein of intentionally withholding Congressional documents and information, failing to comply with Congressional subpoenas and abusing the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).

In particular, Rosenstein was at the Department of Justice in June 2017 when the third mandate renewing the government's mandate under FISA to monitor Trump's former help, Carter Page, was submitted. FISA's demands categorically denounced conspiracy with the Russians and included quotations from media outlets of former British spy Christopher Steele – funded in part by Hillary Clinton and the Democratic National Committee (DNC).

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FISA's applications did not clearly state these links, nor did they mention any new revelations that Steele apparently confided to the State Department that he wanted his now discredited and now infamous record to be released before voting day in 2016.

A DOJ monitoring review of departmental practices on FISA, among others, is expected to be completed in a few weeks.

John Roberts and Jake Gibson of Fox News contributed to this report.