Even if he fires Rosenstein, it's too late to protect Trump from Mueller

By Paul Waldman
Opinion writer
September 24 at 12:31 PM

Because there is no such thing as a slow news day in the Trump era, we learned today that Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein, who oversees special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s investigation into the Russia scandal, has offered to tender his resignation and has traveled this morning to the White House to discuss it with Chief of Staff John F. Kelly. But make no mistake: This resignation, if it happens, is coming too late to save President Trump from Robert Mueller’s investigation.

The proximate cause of Rosenstein’s potential departure is a New York Times story reporting that Rosenstein suggested secretly recording Trump and recruiting members of the cabinet to invoke the 25th Amendment and remove Trump from office, though Rosenstein denied the story and another source said any comment about recording the president was sarcastic. Whichever version you believe, one thing is certain: Rosenstein, who has spent almost three decades as a Justice Department official and prosecutor, was not the kind of lackey Trump wanted in that position. In fact, it’s remarkable he lasted this long.

Let’s run down what happens now with regard to the Russia investigation. Rosenstein is supervising Mueller because Attorney General Jeff Sessions had to recuse himself from the matter, as a high-ranking official in the Trump campaign who had his own contacts with Russian officials in 2016. The president has made clear that he believes the job of the attorney general is to protect him from legal and political jeopardy; as he put it in a recent interview: “I don’t have an attorney general. It’s very sad.” But, unless and until Sessions is replaced — which many believe will happen after November’s election — responsibility for the Mueller investigation falls down the chain of command.

While Trump might replace Sessions and seems likely to replace Rosenstein, both of those positions require Senate confirmation. Not only does that take some time, but also when it happens, the nominees will without question be grilled about whether they plan to fire Mueller and if they had any communication with Trump or anyone else in the White House about that possibility. By being so public and obvious about his desire to have Justice Department leadership that would quash the investigation on his behalf, Trump has made it almost impossible for anyone he appoints to be in a position to do the one thing he seeks from them.

But in any case, permanent replacements for Rosenstein and possibly Sessions wouldn’t be in place for weeks or even months. In the meantime, responsibility for the investigation would fall to Solicitor General Noel Francisco. Which may give Trump hope, because Francisco is a movement conservative who is just the kind of Republican lawyer from whom Trump might expect loyalty.

more
https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2018/09/24/even-if-he-fires-rosenstein-its-too-late-to-protect-trump-from-mueller/