Rod Rosenstein earned the ire of Donald Trump thanks to a September New York Times article that claimed the acting Attorney General had discussed using the 25th Amendment to remove the president from office. Trump, after some wavering, decided to keep him on board until Rosenstein announced he was stepping down in February.
It was a surprise to many that the impulsive president did not fire Rosenstein immediately after the Times piece came out. The Daily Beast is reporting that the acting AG kept his job by promising Trump that he would help to ease the fallout from the Mueller Investigation.
According to the report, Rosenstein claimed, “I give this investigation credibility. I can land this plane.” While he was seen as a threat to Trump for most of his tenure, Rosenstein has faced criticism for the multiple redactions in the report.
The former Acting Attorney General says of his communication with the White House:
“The only commitment I made to President Trump about the Russia investigation is the same commitment I made to the Congress: so long as I was in charge, it would be conducted appropriately and as expeditiously as possible.”
Rosenstein was long a target of House Republicans. In July 0f 2018, news broke of a House Conservative plan to have him impeached. He now finds himself explaining himself to Democrats. On the report, Rosenstein says, “I did pledge to do it right and take it to the appropriate conclusion. I did not promise to report all results to the public.”