Rod Rosenstein Colleague Explains His Enigmatic Actions

Image by twitter

By Daniel J. Solomon May 18, 2017

Rod Rosenstein Image by Getty Images

Rod Rosenstein probably had to negotiate over the language in the infamous memo used as pretext for FBI Director James Comey’s ouster.

That’s according to Eric Columbus, who served as senior counsel to the deputy attorney general’s office in the Obama administration, when Rosenstein worked for the department as the United States attorney in Maryland.

Rosenstein is a rare breed – a Bush political appointee who Obama kept on for eight years, as U.S. Attorney for Maryland. (2/22)

— Eric Columbus (@EricColumbus) May 10, 2017

In a widely-shared tweet-thread, the Harvard-educated attorney described Rosenstein’s place in the Department of Justice and speculated about Rosenstein’s actions in the run-up and aftermath of Comey’s firing by President Trump.

Image by Twitter

Image by twitter

Columbus also guessed that haggling occurred over language in the memo. “Sessions wanted a memo on Comey’s sins, and Rosenstein felt he had to oblige his boss… as long as he didn’t have to expressly say something he didn’t believe,” Columbus wrote, adding that Rosenstein never recommended that Comey be fired..

The Trump White House initially said that the memo was the precipitating factor in Comey’s dismissal as FBI director.

Contact Daniel J. Solomon at [email protected] or on Twitter @DanielJSolomon

Daniel J. Solomon is the former Assistant to the Editor/News Writer at the Forward. Originally from Queens, he attended Harvard as an undergraduate, where he wrote his senior thesis on French-Jewish intellectual history. He is excited to have returned to New York after his time in Massachusetts. Daniel’s passions include folk music, cycling, and pointed argument.

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