Rosenstein's anguish

Andrew McCarthy writes at National Review,

...Regarding this eye-popping Times claim that he proposed wiretapping Trump, Rosenstein’s allies are reduced to insisting that he was just kidding. Clearly, enough people heard the deputy AG talk about covertly recording the president that he cannot credibly deny doing so. Thus, as is his wont, Rosenstein has issued a non-denial denial: “I never pursued or authorized the recording of the President.” Notice: No one is saying he gave a directive; the allegation is that he floated the idea.

In fact, Rosenstein may not have been totally serious about wiring up. But I believe he was dead serious about appearing ready to monitor the president — i.e., about assuring anti-Trump bureaucrats that he was with them, especially those who had good relations with Democrats, such as McCabe.

Still, this was more than idle chatter: Rosenstein’s “joking” about secretly recording Trump came in this context of exploring whether a case for removing the president from office could be built.

Hence, the non-denial denials from Rosenstein.

...Tellingly, Rosenstein avoids claiming that he never discussed the 25th Amendment at all, with anyone. Again, it seems the evidence he did so is sufficiently convincing that Rosenstein dares not flatly deny it; he must instead deflect it. It also seems manifest that the deputy AG was more serious about being perceived as favoring Trump’s removal than about putting his neck on the line in an actual removal effort.

...We come now to the most consequential step the deputy AG took to appease Democrats: his appointment of Robert Mueller as special counsel.

...May 17, 2017: Rosenstein appoints a special counsel to take over the Russia counterintelligence investigation, specifying no crime and providing no factual recitation of grounds for a criminal investigation against President Trump. Nor does the deputy AG explain why the Justice Department is too conflicted to conduct the Russia probe itself. (Mueller will proceed to staff his investigation with top prosecutors from the supposedly conflicted Justice Department, and later — with Rosenstein’s approval — will transfer his Russia indictments to components of the supposedly conflicted Justice Department.)

...To summarize, when he thought it would be popular, Rod Rosenstein was all in on removing FBI director Comey, eagerly volunteering to write the coup de grâce memo. When Comey’s firing ignited bitter protest and recriminations, a distraught Rosenstein blamed Trump for using him. The deputy AG ostentatiously sidled up to the bureaucracy’s “Trump is unfit” faction, expressing openness to wiretapping the president in an effort to force his removal under the 25th Amendment. Indeed, just days after his memo excoriating Comey, Rosenstein confided in FBI officials that he wished Comey were back at the helm and that he hoped to get Comey’s advice on the appointment of a special counsel.

When Democratic pressure to appoint a special counsel reached fever pitch with the Times’ publication of its report, based on a Comey leak, that Trump had pushed for the FBI to drop the Flynn investigation, Rosenstein decided to appoint a special counsel without specifying any crime against Trump. As he brainstormed about the possibility of ousting Trump under the 25th Amendment, Rosenstein flirted with the idea of appointing Obama’s deputy AG, James Cole, as special counsel. Ultimately, he appointed Mueller, the former Obama and Bush FBI director — Comey’s predecessor at the Bureau and colleague in the Bush Justice Department. Mueller staffed his investigation with top officials from the Obama Justice Department, which had green-lighted an investigation of Trump’s campaign.

Immediately after announcing Mueller’s appointment, Rosenstein further assuaged Senate Democrats, promising that Mueller would have no limits. Rosenstein then approved a FISA warrant application that alleged, apparently based on the Clinton-campaign-generated Steele dossier, that the FBI believed Trump campaign officials were complicit in Russia’s hacking conspiracy against the 2016 election. Subsequently, Rosenstein memorialized his authorization to Mueller to investigate “allegations” of collusion — apparently without spelling out any collusion evidence and very likely relying on the Steele dossier.

In Chicago last month, Rod Rosenstein was the featured speaker at annual meeting of the notoriously anti-Trump American Bar Association. Upon his introduction, his speech was delayed by a raucous standing ovation. The beaming deputy attorney general seemed to have gotten over his anguish.

Read more here.