Alan Dershowitz Says Mueller’s Questions May Force Rosenstein’s Recusal
Rod Rosenstein Image by Win McNamee/Getty Images
By Ari Feldman May 2, 2018
Alan Dershowitz speculated on CNN Tuesday that Rod Rosenstein, the embattled Deputy Attorney General of the Department of Justice, could recuse himself from the Russia investigation, the Washington Examiner reported. Dershowitz suggested that the case for Rosenstein’s recusal after the publication of 49 questions Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller wants to ask Donald Trump as part of his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 elections.
Dershowitz spoke with Anderson Cooper about the investigation before sparring with his former law student, the New Yorker writer Jeffrey Toobin. Dershowitz suggested that the nature of the questions — particularly those about the firing of former FBI director James Comey — might mean that Rosenstein could get pulled into the case not as a lawyer but as a witness.
“If there are charges, if there is an impeachment, if there are any kind of legal proceedings relating to why the president fired Comey, the first witness has to be the man who wrote the memo justifying the firing,” Dershowitz said. Rosenstein wrote a memo justifying Trump’s decision to fire Comey.
Later, Dershowitz and Toobin argued about how Mueller might get Trump to answer the questions — something Trump wants to do, but his legal team is wary to let him do it. Dershowitz suggested that if Trump took the fifth, Mueller might offer him immunity in the investigation.
“He’s never going to give the president immunity,” Toobin replied with clear frustration. “Oh my God.”
Contact Ari Feldman at [email protected] or on Twitter @aefeldman
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
