Rod Rosenstein, Deputy Attorney General, plans to resign

But a subsequent memorandum from the Democrats on the House's intelligence committee denied these assertions, revealing that law enforcement officials had been aware of their sources of information by asking for information. authorization to monitor Mr. Page.

The conservatives nevertheless seized the republican document, that officials of the department of the justice and the F.B.I. omitted key facts, justifying Mr. Rosenstein's claim.

The Tea Party Patriots, a political group, produced a dramatic television commercial calling it "a caricaturist at the Department of Justice, protecting Obama's liberal relations and" deep state "instead of following the rule of law" . his job or resign. In April, Trump criticized Rosenstein for "signing a mandate from FISA," an apparent reference to Rosenstein's role in the monitoring application.

Known as a meticulous advocate, Mr. Rosenstein began his career at the Department of Justice in 1990 as a trial attorney in the Public Integrity Section of the Criminal Division of Washington and was promoted to 2005 by President George W. Bush. as US Attorney in Maryland. He held this position for a dozen years, throughout the Obama administration, before being confirmed by the Senate last year as Deputy Attorney General.

In one month, he was caught in the turmoil surrounding Mr. Comey's dismissal when Trump quoted a three-page memo written by Mr. Rosenstein as a pretext for the sudden dismissal. The memo accused Mr. Comey in 2016 of the investigation into Hillary Clinton's use of a private messaging server while she was Secretary of State.

But Mr. Rosenstein had told legislators that he knew that Mr. Comey had to be ousted even before sitting down to write his memo and, a few days earlier, he had spoken with a member of the White House advisor's office. . Shortly after Mr. Comey 's dismissal in May 2017, Mr. Trump and his associates began giving various explanations, the President having admitted in the coming days that he had made the decision to take the lead. investigation of Mr Comey's links. with Russia.

The day after Mr. Comey 's dismissal, in a sometimes tense conversation with Donald F. McGahn II, the White House lawyer, Mr. Rosenstein pointed out that he did not want to be part of the group. an effort to conceal or "massage" the facts. according to someone who knows the discussion.